Borderlands New Faces New Tyrant
by Dr.Archangel
Summary: It's been years since the defeat of Handsome jack, and our vault hunters still have stories to tell. Not by them though, but by their children.
1. Ch1 End of the Beginning

**Here's the rebooted version of the first chapter of my Borderlands story, enjoy. The rights to this game belong's to Gearbox.**

**(7/17/13) I didn't change much on this chapter, but it should be more descriptive, and more structured. The others are on their way. A reference from Lavendarfox's Fanfiction is in here.**

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(The end of the beginning.)

Under the cloudy setting sun the Ferryman hauls Maya's decorative coffin to Axton's family grave site. His seven-year old twins Alan, and Maria, the ferryman, and Axton himself were the only ones who attended his beloved wife's funeral. Axton knew that he and their kids were the best people in her life that she ever had. The locals of Pandora always wanted them dead, and the Hyperion Corporation were ten times cruel than the bandits.

"After all that shit we've been through; Handsome Jack, No-beard, and everyone who's done us harm. I should've been more attentive." Axton redirects his weeping with the tightening of the grip on his cane. The pressure, building into his hand travels to the pain of his crippled knee.

The dead silence of the graves come to the sound of water drizzling. _'Even the heavens weep for our loss'_ Axton thinks. The sound of the river rises from the gathering storm. Water swiveling through the rocks, makes the funeral cut short for the ferryman.

"Listen Axton, I can't stay long this storm is getting worse by the minute."

"Then get going pal. Hand me the shovel we'll take care of the rest." Axton orders.

The ground soaks in the rain which will lead the hole to flow with water soon. They must finish this quick, or the funeral will be rescheduled. With Axton's rickety cane supporting his permanently damaged leg, wobbling in the dirt, and his Dahl uniform soaking up rain water. They move forward with the funeral. Axton flips the switch to lower his lover's coffin. As Axton lets off the switch, he gives his children a hand with the burial. Axton was able to separate the tears with the rain drops on Alan, and Maria's faces. They were just as sad as he was.

Maya has been able to heal Axton in ways no one else could, and Axton always protected Maya with a power only he could wield. With Maya's coffin sealed with wet soil, it is finally time to leave her in peace. Yet Axton doesn't feel at peace within himself. The rain begins to sink through his uniform, so wraps up the ceremony for his kids.

"Maria sweetie, can you hand me the umbrella, and leave me for a moment. You as well Alan, go on back to the house." Axton asks to his kids.

As they leave their father to mourn, he begins his condolences.

"May-Maya I'm sorry for what's happened… But Hell, maybe you'll find your Siren heritage up there. Now listen darlin, I promise I'll look after'er kids, but someday I'll see you again, and on that day I'll never let you go, never. Sweet dreams honey." He whips his tears away with the rain, and regrouped back with his kids inside the house.

"Daddy." Whispered Maria.

"Yes sweetie." Axton tries to ask with no startles.

"How did mom die?"

"Some whack job psycho with a big mouth."

Axton kept racing through his mind all the way back home_ 'God dammit why did I take that job'_.

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**What do you think better? Review and let me know.**


	2. Ch2 19 years later

**Here's the next chapter for Borderlands the Next Generation. Plus with a little more light on who the Antagonist will be in the series. Enjoy**

**(7/20/13) Here's another reedit, added information provided below.**

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(19 years later)

It's been an easy going life for Alan, and Maria over the years, yet Axton has not been well. He's been forced into retirement under heavy medication, and with a leg that doesn't even work anymore without the support of his cane. Alan works calmly as a Dahl mechanic. His sister Maria, attends to the highest ranked university on the planet. Their father is proud of their achievements, yet the hole made nineteen years ago will never be filled for him.

Down the road from Maria's school, Alan takes a leave of absence from base consistently to go see his sister. Sometimes it's to bug her, or share news from their father, plus their food is much better than the food they supply on base. Sitting with Maria and her friends in a group who call themselves "The Couch Crew" is like hanging out with a group of friendly stranger's at a café. Every time Alan comes over, Maria's friends always welcome Alan in like one of their own. Sitting his but to the cushion with a tray of good food on the table he can finally chow down. Usually Maria, and her friends have some interesting topics that are worth talking about, current events (local or international), the latest media hits, non-local rumors, basically anything worth talking about. '_At least they don't gossip_ 'Alan thought.

The topic today is the "Newplasmas Corporation". All over the news, it's been said the company hasn't been doing good at all. Poorly manufacturing guns, fast depleting shields, and very unstable grenades that blow even with the pin. Personally in Alan thoughts 'the Newplasmas Corporation has never made good decisions'.When the company first started, they had a well fed invest in their bank, but the company always did a poor job with their products. It's as if they're not using that investment at all. The CEO of the Newplasmas Corporation never really shows herself she's known only as "Ms. Phenix"

After lunch Alan heads back to base, while Maria goes to her next class. On his way back to base, he catches a few rain clouds. About four in view, they aren't so big, but no so small. Alan arrives back to base with a team of MP's waiting to arrest him. Escorted by the MP's to the HQ in cuffs, he notices a limousine parked on the side.

"Sir, what's this all about?" Alan tries not to speak with any kind of tone, but the MP to his left just said "Shut up!" Alan made no facial expression, he just looked straight towards the front door of HQ. Inside the base were heavily armed Dahl Rangers. Alan knew something horrible is happening, because Dahl Rangers would never come to a simple infantry base. Alan can't hide it any longer, he's scared shitless with all this. The MP's throw Alan into a chair, and the door to the front offices open up. A woman in a highly medaled uniform comes out, nicely shaved, but with enough hair to depict her feminine aspects. She takes the bigger seat across Alan's seat.

"Good afternoon Private Alan. I'm Colonel Sarah, and I think you've heard of me before." Sarah gives Alan an assuming smile.

"Sarah? Ugh, before or after I joined Dahl?" Alan wants to be sure what she's asking.

"…How about we start from before, shall we Alan?" Alan can somehow see that Sarah's teasing him to the point where he's vulnerable to be compromised.

Alan took a brief pause, still looking at her, and so he started from after, "Sir, I heard a lot of things about you.-" Sarah takes a moment to take pride in herself from hearing that, "Rumors from the higher officers, and propaganda." Her face of pride turns into a slight agitated look.

"Private Alan cut the bullshit. If you know your father, you should know who I am, inside and out."

Alan then takes another pause, and takes a deep breather, "Sir! What do you want?"

"I just want to know how your father is doing, last I heard of him, he hasn't been doing well at all." Sarah asks in a defensive tone. It felt weird to see the most respected officer of the planet be so defensive to a Dahl mechanic.

"Well umm, last I checked he's done nothing of interest. Just drinking, and sleeping. Anything else you need to know… Sir!" Alan almost forgot to finish off his sentence, but Sarah paid no mind.

"Actually I'm asking you what you need to know! Before you ask, we found this letter of a wanted criminal with your father's signature on it, as well as your mother's-"

"My mother's!?" Alan burst out with no sign of respect to his superior officers.

"Yes your mother's." Sarah had no startle, but she's almost there from her facial expression.

"Lemme see it!" Alan lunges to the letter demanding his colonel to give the letter to him.

"Ugh, are you questioning me? I am the officer to your higher officers, I'd appreciate some respect, private!" Sarah smacked down on rank.

Alan makes a real shitty counteraction, "No, I'm asking the former commander who passively suggested my father Axton, to go AWOL in the first place!" Alan let out an emotional bomb only a boot camper would make.

Sarah makes no expression, but the MP's and other officers stand back and begin to aim their guns on Alan's disrespectful hide. With quick thinking she holds up her hand to cease fire. She comes closer to a small talking distance. "Reckless and determined, just like your father. You really are Axton's son." She now takes a quick sigh, and pulls out a small stack of paper with a staple pressed inside them. "Sign this, and you will be resigned to leave, please relinquish your guns, and uniform, nothing else! Anything I didn't say is yours to keep."

Alan gave up his sidearm, jacket, boots, and pants. All in front of the Colonel, but what she didn't say to hand over was his knife, and his new Sabresuit. Alan believes she's giving him the edge she gave to his father years ago.

"Now before you leave this building, there are clean clothes for you left out with the letter outside the door. Good luck Alan."

Alan didn't reply, not even to turn his back to her. He walked in his boxer briefs, and retrieved his clothes with what's left of his dignity. Hell he didn't even care if they saw him put his clothes on at all, he's seen enough naked men in his years in the Dahl Military. Now fully clothed in both cargo pants, jacket, and a t-shirt that says "A Dahl Expender". To Alan, this shirt is saying he has brought shame to Dahl. He reaches for the letter found in his jacket pocket that his officers already ripped open. He opens the letter to find a folded up document of a wanted woman with long curly black hair, no piercings, and no signs of drugs or alcohol on her pale face, she looks real pretty. Below the picture is their mother and father's signature. In the left pocket, he found a cell phone ringing in his pocket.

(Two minutes earlier on Maria's side.)

Maria steps out of the glittering rain to put her wet feet behind the front door. She finally puts up her raincoat, and calls all of today finished, and what's left of the day is free time. Maria takes a big sigh steps further into the lobby of her dormitory. Before she heads up to her own dorm room, she heads for her mail bin. Expecting for her latest issue of _"Vogue Magazine"_, but it wasn't there. Instead she finds a stuffed envelope with the sentence _"Confidential for Maria, and Alan."_She opens the letter to find the same folded up document as Alan's. She drops her handbag in shock to see her mother's signature on this document. She snatches her cell phone to call her brother about the letter. She paces frantically while the call is being put through. By the time Alan answers his own phone, she didn't even greet him properly.

"Alan, Alan you're not going to believe this, but-" Alan interrupts Maria's discussion on the letter.

"Did you get a wanted poster with our parents signature's on it too?" Alan said in the same tone as Maria's

"Yeah, what the hell is? Who sent? How did-… What's going on?" Maria babbled in panic, she almost dropped a tear from her face.

"Sis calm down. Alright listen. We're gonna go see dad… Get to the bottom of this. But I'm going need you pick me up, I resigned from the military. which also means they took away my wheels. Alright?" Alan speaks every word with shame.

"… Okay, I know where your base is, I'll be there in about twenty minutes. Depending on the weather condition, so more or less."

"It's okay. See you when you get here."

(Forty minutes later, at Axton's mansion)

In Axton's family owned mansion, he brews his cinnamon coffee to make his weakened bones to jump. The dark rain surges the ground to flood. Still waiting for his coffee to fully brew, his eyes catch a picture of him with the rest of the family, when Maya was alive… When his family was whole. Back in his memories, he recaps all the time they had. The one thing he can never forget, was that he, Alan, and Maria were the only people in Maya's life that she ever loved. When his coffee mug was half full with coffee, with sugar, and milk to the mix, Axton heads for the living room to catch up on current events with the television news. Unluckily, Axton is unexpectedly greeted by an old acquaintance. He drops his mug when his eyes catch her evil daze A woman with curly dark hair, clear face, and looks the same as he last saw her nineteen years ago. This young woman didn't age a day between now, and the last time he saw her. Axton feels spontaneous combustion inside him by just looking at her, and her gleaming tattoos. The anger of what she did to Axton just flows inside him, and seeps out in full blast, but he wouldn't budge. This Siren does nothing, but just stirs all around him. She comes closer to him, forces out his hand, and places a ring in his palms. Axton still won't move around, he was just too distraught in his current situation. Axton was hoping that it was her forcing him to stay where he is, but deep down inside him, it's his own will to not move She leads her hand to the back of his head, and reaches for his ear with her lips, and says 'Le jour de nouvelle renaissance, vous serez le premier à mourir' (On the day of new rebirth, you will be the first to die). The sound of a parking car startles the strange woman's sensation, so she turns away. She walks towards the living room she phases out and suddenly vanishes. With his children knocking on the front door, he picks up his spilled mug in pain due his leg, and then let's them inside.

"Hey dad." Alan greets as if another normal day.

"What is it you two?" Axton grumbles while sipping his coffee.

"Who is the woman on this document, and why are both you and our mother's signature signed on it?" Maria shows with the poster in hand.

Axton drops his mug again, but this time it shatters in two. All Axton wants in his life is to forget all about that woman, but it was inevitable, that Siren's actions will never go away.

"For nineteen years, I tried to forget what that Bitch done to me, and our family. Well I guess it's now time to spill the beans."

"What are you saying dad, who is this woman?!" Alan demands with his own document in his hands.

"Well you call her Ms. Phenix." Axton tries not to gnaw out the words in front of his own children, he just lets it all out as simple as possible.

Their faces shatters in shock knowing that this is the face of the CEO of Newplasmas. Yet they have no idea why she's on a wanted poster. "But to me, all that propaganda is load of bullshit. I call her Claire, Claire the bitch!"

"That's her name? Claire." Maria answers with a bit of startling words.

"No sweetheart, it's Claire the Bicth." Axton personally corrects.

"Dad stop swearing at this woman. I mean it's not like she-" Alan was interrupted by his father.

"She's the one that killed your mother dipshit!" Axton screams with instant remorse of what he said to his own son.

Alan's face slowly fades from normal to shock, "…What?" Alan says in a disturbing tone.

Maria's face follows her brothers, and drops with emotions of shock, and sadness. Alan drops himself on the floor, and looks at the wanted picture again, while Maria cups her mouth, preparing to cry in silent agony.

"She…She killed our mom?" Maria cried.

Alan took a big sigh, and sucked up, and focused on the task at hand.

"… Alright whatever, Claire the Bitch it is." Alan focused.

"There's more to it than just her. She's got something big planned for all of us, especially us three." Axton warns.

"Dad why didn't you tell us about her? All these years you haven't said a thing, and after all that we've done for you? You could've at leas-" Maria argued, until Axton interrupted.

"Because I wanted you to go to school, and I wanted Alan to serve the Dahl Corporation with no nagging claws in the back of your heads of how she died. I thought it'd be best that you didn't know of what happened."

"Well I think it's time you tell us how all this happened. How did she really die? We need every detail." Alan orders

"Well son. I wasn't joking about the 'whack job psycho with a big mouth'."

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**What do you think. Please review.**


	3. Ch3 A Shattered Family

**The most tragic chapter so far. I hope you'll cry of sadness, because that means that I successfully created this chapter.**

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(19 years ago, some time before chapter 1)

After seven years, Axton, and Maya come back to Pandora. They reunite with their old Vault hunting crew; Salvador, Zer0, Gaige, and Krieg are also here to work on this new job. Their mission is to capture a fugitive who has stolen critical information from one of the various corporations operating on Pandora. The group have Intel that suggests she's operating in the old eridium mines in the Blight. Nothing after that, they have no idea why she's there, or what she wants. They don't even know what company she stole the information from. It was just another shady job on the one backstabbing planet they call Pandora. Over the years away from this planet, the Blight region never did change at all; unstable volcanos, raining ash, and slagged creatures everywhere. Axton and Maya don't care at all, they just want to get this job done, and head back home. It's probably been 2 weeks on the planet Hieronymous already, and they have just arrived ten hours ago. Their friends seem to forget that Axton and Maya are parents now. Alan and Maria were the only two people they could think about, during this trip. With that fact in their minds, they cannot gamble their lives on a whim anymore. They must remain vigilant, and careful from now on. Maya still has the power to heal, but they both do their best not to go down to that point. As confident as they are in each other, they must keep themselves alive, and healthy. For once on their time on Pandora. Tracking this fugitive's business in these mines wasn't hard, they just had to find the correct eridium mine, with the deepest depth. The only hard part is that those deep mines are the most fragile, one misstep and the whole mine collapses.

The Vault hunters start out with the deepest mine they ever found, but due to the years of crumbling, they decide to enter in pairs. Axton insisted to go first, and brings Maya with him, the rest follows in their own pairs. As they come about ten feet underground, they have no evidence of recent activity of anything. Not even a slagged larva crab worm was around. Now either this mine is a dud, or it's too quiet. It's enough to be suspicious on why it's so quiet and lifeless. Half way down the mine, the smell of hot, and greasy machines of refineries stabs the team in the nostrils. The bickering nonsense of bandit's reach their ears louder than the refineries which means they are not far from where they are. They take an alternate route to avoid the bandit workers. When two of the patrolling bandits were in view, Krieg was able to make out what clan they are, the "Blak ied Clan". He looked a little concerned even when his face is always covered under that mask of his. Hiding from their current position, they manage to eavesdrop on their conversation as well as they could pronounce it out.

"Yiiah waattevah shi lookin fo isseer. Wih pakin iup tiday, hiidn'ot todem lans ih can'd rimimbuh." Said a bandit.

The Vault hunters were a bit ashamed, because whatever this fugitive wants, she has found it. Taking a closer look to the bandits with his deception cloak on, Zer0 takes a closer look to their necks to find strange collars on them. A little bit of purple tells him that it's running on Eridium. As he comes back to the hiding spot, and points out the collars. With a question mark, illuminating on his face. No one can tell what those collars were for. They decide to call it quits, and discuss the intelligence they've acquired. When most the Vault hunters were embracing in ash and volcanic sunblock, the mines entrance take an unexpected rock slide with Axton still inside the mines. He pushes his will to shift the heavy rocks through, but this was on purpose, a rocks slide this sudden isn't an accident. Then a team of bandit rats from the Blak ied clan comes to not kill, but capture Axton. He can tell that's what they want, since they aren't doing their normal routine of charge, and shoot till dead on sight. They have something else in mind for Axton. Something real uncalled for. Worse thing is, he was right, they knock him out and dragged him back into the deeper mines.

Axton was woken up by a hot blade to his upper bicep on the right. He grits out his scream, with tightly closes his eyes, and a deathly wail of agony. He finally notices that he's strapped to a chair, unable to move away from this little light bulb from above. Coming through the dark area of the room comes a slender looking woman, a black spandex vest, showing both of her tattoos, skinny jeans, and a dark curly haired face with a smile that chills every bone in Axton's body. She then wraps her vision around him, and circles Axton like a hungry rakk that's ready to strike.

"Well hello there Axton, you big boy." She doesn't give him time to talk, she then pulls out a wooden plank, and whacks him in the face. She smacks him so hard, the chair falls to the floor on the first whack. Every other swing was on the floor, she didn't bring him back up. Axton is still conscious, but heavily injures in the head. She hoists him up from the floor, to show some shred of care. He spits out his blood on her boots, and she put's the tip of the stick to his neck. Heavily breathing with another session that doesn't involve heavy swings to the head turns relaxing very quickly.

"I don't… even know your name. But I… I… I already want you dead." Axton calmly says under all the blood he slivers out of his mouth.

"My name is Claire, let's get that outta the way. And Axton, you can try, and talk your way out of this, but… An ant cannot rebel against a boot.-" Claire takes a moment to look at what he's staring at. She notices that he's staring at her tattoos. "Yes Axton, I am a Siren. As you can see from my tattoos. No doubt as the same to your wife, I presume?"

Axton instantly pumps himself with rage, and struggles out of these bindings. Claire gives Axton a nod no, with a disappointed look on her face. She hit's him again, but not so hard this time, compared to the last few times, this was a mere love tap, and it still hurts like Hell.

"Axey listen to me, I just want the Vault map. Tell me where it is, and I'll let you go."

Axton this time spits out his blood on the floor to his left side and babbles these eight words, "Fuck you, I'd rather be in pieces!" He now spits the blood on her again, and this time she'll do something much worse than a wooden stick. She pulls out a kukri knife from her right boot, and stabs Axton's left foot with it. Axton wails in complete painful cries, the blade is still jabbed into his knee. The blood rushes down the chair's leg, while dripping over the ledge. He screams through tight gritting teeth, to end his brief suffering. Claire then whispers in Axton's ear while rubbing her hand on his firm chest.

**_"_**Axtonsweetie. It doesn't have to be this way. All you have to do is tell me where your team hid the vault map. That's it."

"You already heard my answer!" Axton growled with his pain in blood decorating the expression on his face.

"Yes, you'd rather be in pieces… eh well if you would rather be in pieces, I'll see to it your in pieces."

Axton gave her a humph "Good luck with that." and Claire gave her a little warning "You should've chosen your words carefully."

She pulls out her spare knife, and takes it to his neck. "Do it! What're you waitin for! Do it, do it!" Axton surrenders with no spill of valuable information on his hands. He accepts his death with dignity, but Claire just lowers his knife.

"Why should I do that? You said you'd rather be in pieces, so that's what I'll give you, and I'll make sure it's the biggest piece you own." Claire's words slither in Axton's ears  
"Whatever." Axton just growled under his breath. Behind him, his binds have been cut off, kicked to the floor, and was given Claire' spare knife in his hands. Unknowing what she's doing, Axton takes this given advantage and crawls in pain to try and kill Claire, but she's too far away. He'll lose enough blood to die if keeps it up, but if just remains still there, he'll still lose blood. So he takes his chances and keeps going towards Claire.

"Persistent much Axton. Ah well, here I have a present for you." Claire then holds out Axton's hatchet that was supposed to be in his back pocket. He didn't reach for his own backside to check, he just wanted to kill Claire with the provided knife. Claire then fades into the darkness of this single lit room, and then another source of light came on, and he was introduced to his wife Maya strapped into a chair.

"Axton buddy, meet helpless Maya. Sister Maya, meet shitty Axton." Claire gloated on both of their current situations. Maya was strapped to a chair with a ball gag in her mouth. The chair looks real interesting for Axton. There were these strange markings all around the chair. Whatever they are, they glow an evil shade of purple, and Maya doesn't look healthy with those things around her. The look of Maya's situation with the ball gag reminds Axton of the last time they were in this kind of problem. The ball gag pretty much spot's on with what's being reminded here the most. With all his might he pulls his weight with his arms to get closer. Closer to have any chance of saving her, and rip the bitch's throat out with the knife stabbed in his knee.

"See Axey, now say goodbye to your big piece, and to make it interesting. I'm going to use your own hatchet, how ironic is this? The very weapon you use to protect yourself is now turned against you, pathetic!-" She then turns her attention to Maya, "Any last words for your husband? Oop I forgot about your old ball gag. Here let me do it for you." She then cups Maya's jaw and mimics her words with Maya's mouth, "How could you do that to me, Axton? I trusted and loved you and you betrayed me. . . I'm here because of you, you bastard." Claire states those exact same words from that awful day. It's so strange to Axton of how she knows all of this.

The anger surges through Axton like self-sustaining energy. He sweats with stress, and tears of deep sorrow flow all over his face. He can see Maya's face, and it was just unbearable to just look at, he could barely breathe any words, let alone move his lips. Maya's bullet, sized tears motivates Axton to just keep going further no matter how much blood he loses in the process. The current situation of which both lovers are feeling towards each other, are just awful. Axton is slowly losing enough blood to die himself by just crawling to any chance to save her life.

"Oh screw this, you two are boring me-"

She quickly hacks an innocent Sirens neck, with Axton's own hatchet to hear her puncturing crackling bones. Axton helplessly witnesses the murder of his own wife.

"MAYA!" Axton screams with all that's left in his lungs, and there isn't much left in them.

Her final breath came out through the open half of her hacked throat, and her head was finally lop siding. With the heartless revelation rising from Claire's deed, she kicks her to the floor and lets her blood sink to the ground. Maya's empty face, and the very hatchet she died from still lobbing in her neck forces every will in Axton to keep moving, as much as he's suffering in only a matter of the waking minutes, he won't stop crawling to what's left of his wife, even if he's barely conscious. Claire turns her head, to look at Axton, and to no surprise in her actions, he doesn't even stop to threaten her, not even for a glare. Delighted by her insufferable work she takes one more stare at this broken man, and pops a smirk so evil, it'll give the Devil himself a run for his money. As Claire phases away chuckling, Axton reaches Maya's body, and sits all his weight onto his good knee to cradle her head, and shoulders in his arms. No matter how much Axton refuses to believe, her dangling eyes tells him only that nothing could be done, he's no Siren, and yet she healed him countless times.

"MAYA!Maya!" Axton cried for the empty corpse of the very Siren he loves. His heavy tears fall down to her face, with no flinch of life when they drop on her. Maya's blood drips into the skin of Axton's arm that snuggles her head, and he doesn't care. He was too broken physically, and mentally to even notice. Face to face with his deceased lover, mourning with no sense of comfort, he wails out his emotions with every scream. Crying with the tearful little boy no one can grow out of. Axton couldn't focus on his own wound, he was too disturbed to even focus on the pain at all. He then lost consciousness due to blood loss.

Axton wakes up in a chair of the ironically firm allied hands of Doctor Zed barely conscious. As he catches up with his thoughts Sal, Zero, Gaige, Krieg and everyone else were in front of him. Axton jolts up demanding where Maya is, hoping that he was just dreaming about her neck being hacked. Sadly he finds her body bag right next to him, and he breaks down crying with his inner child again. After he was able to stand and move, he looks into her body bag to see her eyes unclosed. Before he closes her eye lids he takes one last look at them. Even after twenty six years he can still remember what those eyes look like.

Axton and Maya… They were the best they could be, and Axton lost her all because of his big mouth.

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**I hope that the POV switch didn't make the story confusing I thought the Narrator would make Maya's death more descriptive. Please review, and tell me if this chapter brought tears to your eyes.**

****** 6/11/13, **A word by Dr. Archangel: Killing Maya wasn't easy for me. I'll admit there were other possibilities in my idea list, but her death is probably the longest run in traumatic events for Alan and Maria compared to any other possibilities.


	4. Ch4 Training

**I am proud of myself, longest chapter ever. Hope you enjoy it. It took me all about seven hours in total to put this together. I hope you'll be pleased with the chapter.**

**(7/20/13) It isn't the longest chapter anymore. Now this one makes more sense at the bottom when they select their weaponry.**

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Their father axton never really likes to think about her death, but his kids really needed to know what really happened. He falls to the ground with tears down his swollen cheeks. Alan and Maria help him back up. Maria picks up his cane while Alan supports his bad knee. Axton may be getting old, but he can still feel the fire in his gut burning with rage.

"Happy now?" Axton rudely says. Alan and Maria just roll their eyes in front of their dad.

"Whatever, but you two better get your crap straightened out? She's gonna attack, and when she starts she won't be stopped." Axton warns.

"Is there something else we should know?" Maria asks.

He fell to his recliner in distress. His kids are still anxious for more information

"Dad, I had to resign from my career from Dahl to get here. So if you have more to say about this, we gotta know everything, right now!" Alan demanded

"I'm not sure what she's specifically planning, but I know it's gonna be more than bad. It's going to be a colossal outbreak of chaos if she succeeds. You two are going to have to stop her, no matter what. Or else bad shit's gonna happen everywhere. Honey, get me a piece of paper, and pen. There are others who need to know about this. I maybe old, but I still have friends in deep places."

He writes Maria a list of people, and their last known locations with the pen and paper provided. The first on the list is someone named Zer0

"I'm not sure if any of these people are still alive, but I know they have someone related out there. Now I'm sure most of these people are going to be found on Pandora. That planet is where all her plans are being boiled down to…- wait hang on, hey son hand me the picture on top of my medal display."

The picture of him, Maya, Zero, Salvador, Lilith, Brick, Mordecai, Gaige and Krieg.

"Thanks son, but hey let me tell you two about this photo. You see this handsome grunt… That's me. The woman next to me that would make me look like a worthless bastard without her is your mom. After we took out Handsome Jack, she turned into a real dangerous bitch on the field, and other places that I'd rather not say" Axton laughs with a hint of pride in his throat. "But anyway umm… the rest of the group are some good friends of mine. As I said before, they should still be alive or most of them I assume. I lost contact with them over time. Now then-"

He immediately slammed it down to the floor breaking the framed glass, and picked up the photo, and a hidden key.

"What's that key for?" Maria asks her father with no clue.

"It opens the safe to our family's armory. Both of you help me to our family portrait!" Axton orders

Behind their family portrait which was taken before Maya's death, is a secret hand scanner. After Axton passes the palm clearance, it needs a password, with his voice recognition.

"Password: Phoenix." Axton clearly says.

"Why Phoenix?" Alan asks

"It may be Claire's nickname, but it's your mother's favorite mythological monster." Axton answered with comfort

Next thing is the circular rug digistructing away revealing a secret elevator.

"How did we not notice this while we were living here?" Maria wonders

"Because it's the only place I can feel younger, and a badass again." Axton answers "You know this use to be a stairwell, until I got the cane."

"That doesn't surprise me." Alan says calmly

The bottom of the elevator lead to a shooting range, and an armory.

"If you're gonna go after Claire you're gonna need training Maria."

"Why just me?" Maria said in jealousy.

"Because I've already been taught to handle a gun in Dahl's basic training." Alan corrected

"Cheeky bastard." Maria said under her breath.

"But hey, son you may already know how to handle a gun as a mechanic, but do you know how to survive as a soldier?" Axton said

"Yes, yes I do." Alan backed.

Axton gave his son a long look in disappointment.

"Well not entirely."

"In that case follow me to the V.R. stations." V.R. is the initials for Virtual Reality.

"Coming." Alan sighs

"Maria when I get back, grab that pistol on the table, and wait for further instructions."

"Dad, I can't do this!" Maria back talks.

"Excuse me?" Axton says demanding an answer.

"I'm just a college student I have no military experience."

"Yes you can honey, it's in your blood. You're a part of this family, and this family always knows how to fire a gun. Even those who weren't in the military, I know you can do it sweet heart." As he turns to Alan, he thinks of another helpful hint that can keep her going. "But hey, if you didn't know, your mother knew how to handle a gun, and she had no military experience at all."

As Axton and Alan were heading for the V.R. Station, Alan does admit that what his father said to his sister did sound helpful. On the other side of the hall Axton spills his curiosity on his son's turret.

"Hey do you still have your turret?"

"Yes actually, and it's doing great, but I had an idea about it."

"What's that son?"

"Instead of making it a turret I thought I could modify it to deploy on my back."

Axton looks at his son awkwardly dumbstruck with a raising eyebrow.

"Think of turning the turret instead of a deployable sentry, but as a suit of armor."

"Hmm. How's that working for you?" Axton says in sarcasm

"I had it made a month ago. It's got the rocket pods on my shoulders, the main gun is on my main hand, and the slag guns are on my other hand, and the shield is- you know what how about I show you first hand."

He presses his hand on the button on his left back pack sleeve, and all his limbs started to glow with digistructing pixels. His main hand has his main mini-gun, the dual slag guns were on his other, the rocket pods pop out on his shoulders, then his whole head turns into a full head helmet following his whole body turning into a suit of green digital camouflage armor.

"What do you think dad?"

"Wish I had that in my youth, real badass." Axton's real impressed with his suit, but he does wonder if his son can fight without the suit.

"That'll put Mr. Torgue's weaponry a run for his money." Axton says

"Yeah, but personally my favorite part is the shield, I took a Vladof Shield's bullet absorbance, and a turtle shield's durability to make a well hardened shield."

"Well that's mighty impressive for the moment, but what if that suit isn't there for you when you need it, what about then?"

"Well isn't that what the VR stations are for. To teach me how to survive without it."

"Exactly, now get that thing off, and train up. The pod should take you to a desert area first. Once you complete that it'll take you to jungle, then a tundra environment, and the last will be a radiation wasteland if you survive all four area's you'll be back, and ready for anything. Good luck I gotta see your sister."

"Thanks dad."

Back at Maria's place of training Axton appears with a box of six rounds.

"Alright Maria one of the key's when firing a gun is to just relax, hold your breath, and squeeze both hands."

"Why both hands?" Maria asked.

"Glad you asked. The gun that's not pulling the trigger is catching your recoil. So the gun doesn't smack you in the face. Make sense?"

"Yessir."

"Good, but before I give you a loaded gun I'm gonna teach you how to position yourself when holding one. What you gotta do is spread your legs to shoulder width, slightly bend your knees, with your good arm grab your pistol, and punch it out, then catch it with your other arm. Did you get that?"

"Yessir."

"Now show me."

Her first gun handle wasn't at all bad, but she was a little tense in the shoulders. She holds the recoil hand precisely, she may never have held a gun before, but she knows you don't hold it like people do in the movies. She takes in some breath, squeezes her recoil hand first, following the trigger, and out went the air.

"Perfect. Absolutely flawless. Now for a live clip." Axton was very impressed in his voice.

"Yeah but something about that didn't feel right." Maria said.

"Don't worry Maria. It's all in your head. That feeling will wear off after your arms get use to the recoil. Trust me, we all get use to it." Axton answered. "Now let's see how you can handle the recoil."

He gave his own daughter a loaded Dahl repeater in the utmost confidence. Following his father's steps with both steps on how to fire a gun, and hold a gun. Same routine as the last; relax, hold breath, and squeeze. Results were more astonishing than the last.

"Maria sweetie….That was beautiful. You're a natural shooter, just like your mother."

Maria makes a little smirk with a twinkle of confidence in her eyes.

"Alright good but your targets aren't going to just stand still unless there tied up. You're going to have to bump up the level cap in this shooting gallery if you're going to keep that smirk on your face. Now then if your Maya's daughter, I'm going to set the targets to move. In 3...2…1"

"In that case-" Maria immediately pulls out her pistol taking the first target with ease. Immediately, the next one pops out further away to the left of her eyesight. It went down the same way as the last. Next target was the same, and so on until her clip went dry.

"A proper good job sweetie. Now let's see how fast you can reload." Axton says. He pulled out his own pistol to explain how to reload. "Now follow these steps; empty clip, load next with the flat side on your palm, pull back, and switch safety on or off depending on your situation. My overall record on reload speed was about 2:47 seconds Now if you match that time with this pistol, and fire these next targets the same as the last, then you just learned how to handle a basic sidearm."

"Alright." Maria follows exactly how her father showed her. The targets were faster, and more spontaneous, but she shows excellent marksmanship. She turns to her father, but this time instead of impressed he shows a hint of jealousy, and suspicion. "Something wrong dad?"

"You just loaded that gun in 1:52 seconds, and took the targets out in less than 5 seconds…You never fired a gun before right?" Axton asks.

"Yeah, to be honest I never thought I'd be this good."

"Hmm. It took me two weeks to learn how to shoot a Dahl sidearm how I did, and you just learned to shoot one in day, twice as better as my record."

"You're not jealous are you?"

"No, no, no I'm not entirely jealous. Just a bit, but I'm overall amazed."

"Oh how do you think I did all this?"

"Well I'd say you really are a natural shooter, but I think I know what's going on. I think your siren abilities are starting to evolve."

"Siren abilities?"

"Your mother told me that when a siren is born, she will always be in contact with their powers, but over time that power will evolve, and enhance your senses. In other words, your abilities as a siren is starting to hit puberty."

"Okay. That does sound awesome I'll give you that."

"Good, I better check on your brother I have him training in the V.R. environments."

Back on Alan's side of training he wakes up out of the virtual reality worlds of survival, and back into the safety of the real world. Axton comes limping at the score board of his survival ratings for each world condition, and so far it was impressive. The desert total rate is 93.4%, the jungle is 91.8%, 90.2% on the tundra, and the wasteland took 95% Alan's overall score is no less than each individual score with a 98.4%. Axton goes to check on his son to find him on the floor puking out dry saliva.

"Let it out son. Coming back to the real world can be hard to do, when you do more in your head. It happens to everyone, trust me I know. "Axton chuckles "But luckily when you are out doing the real thing it'll be easier. You won't end the day losing your stomach."

"That thing's amazing…I felt as if I spent a month in that seat." Alan says breathing heavily

"Yeah they do. To be honest this 'seat' can go between 250,000 to 500,000 bucks in the Dahl military for just doing what you've done. All the recruits have to do is sleep for about ten minutes, and they'll have all their training done when they wake up."

"Wow that's absolutely- wait hang on if it's that expensive how you managed to purchase this one." Alan interjects.

"Who said anything about me purchasing it?" Axton smirks.

"You stole this!"

"No, no, no I didn't steal this."

"Good you almost had me there."

"I stole a copy of the blueprints."

"Okay now you got me."

"Son please. Dahl doesn't give a shit about these early models anymore. Personally I always prefer these due to their realistic environments."

"Alright then should we put Maria in this next?"

"Yeah let's go get her."

When they find Maria she was still practicing on the range.

"Maria honey stop, you've proven to be an excellent shooter already no need to strain your skills alright." Axton informed.

"Wait what do you mean an excellent shooter? How long was I out?" Alan panics.

"You were out for ten minutes. During that time I learned that my gift as a siren will make my senses strengthen." Maria answers.

"Okay then. Umm dad wants you to get into the V.R. station now."

"Gotcha."

As she left to the other room Axton and Alan sits down in the lounge area.

"Huh thirsty." Axton whispers. "Hey son?"

"Hmm?" Alan answers.

"How old are you and your sister again?"

"Were both 26, but were also 8 months between each other. I came first to be specific. Why?"

"Well son this maybe an armory and range, but it's also our families liquor cellar."

Alan just freezes for a moment with a raised eyebrow in confusion. "You keep both liquor, and guns down here? Seriously?"

"Son. Relax, once you step into the bar section, you'll be locked in until your sober. So calm down. Come, have a drink my treat."

"Alright then. I'll just take a beer for now."

"K then son."

A bottle of beer, and a shot of Malt whiskey digistructed right on their tables.

"Lighten up son. I'll die eventually, but for now I'm going to live the rest of my life to the fullest."

"Keep drinking, and thinking like that, your eventual death will arrive faster than you know."

"That's what I'm hoping to be honest."

"Hold on are you saying you want to die soon?"  
"Son… I'm getting old. Eventually I'll be in the hospital with a heavy dose of Morphine on its way. Personally I hope to have big plans in the next life, and when that happens you'll be good to go for the next sixty years."

"Is this about mom? And how this all happened?"

He didn't say anything, just kept sipping his whiskey.

"Dad listen… Now I don't know how you feel about all that's happened since she died, but I don't think she'd be proud of how you're getting ready to join her. I think she'd want you to live the rest of your life in peace."

"Son, I love you, both you and your sister. I know you're going to lead good lives too, but personally I want to get the rest of my life over with. I want to be with Maya again. She was and is the love of my life."

"Fine whatever, if you want to waste what's left of your life drinking booze until your dead than go ahead! I just hope that when you do go upstairs that you'll find everything you're looking for."

"Thanks son."

After Alan became sober he was able to pass the lockdown area. Maria comes out of the V.R. room with her score sheets for Axton.

"I wouldn't talk to dad right now he's a little drunk. Let me see your scores, and compare them to mine."

"Okay." Maria awkwardly says, tilting to the side to see their elder father drinking like a fountain.

"Whoah. You got a perfect score. A 100% score on each environment. Impressive!" Her brother compliments.

"Well. I learned how to shoot, and we both learned how to survive in a variety of the wilderness. What do we do now?"  
"You two take this key, and take the two box thingy's in the armory." Axton eavesdrops, and threw the key to them. "Each box should have your names on them. Evyting you'll need fer da trip t'Pandora's is in dose boxes. Now go kick some ass'ssssssssss." Axton says while intoxicated, and then drops his head to the table unconscious.

"How much did he drink?" Maria asks.

"I'm assuming it was a strong drink, because that's the only shot he had."

"I'm worried about him?"

"Yeah me too. Anyway lets' see what he has for us." Opening the armory with the key provided by their drunk-out father they found their specific boxes. Alan's chest contained about 10,000 dollars, a Vladof Minigun rifle with a reflex sight known as the "Shredifier" a Jakobs revolver that's called "Rex" and a note that says "Alan your equipment is the gear I used in my youth. I may have been trained by Dahl, but I was a sucker for Vladof weaponry. As for the pistol, that's the same revolver that I used to shoot down Handsome Jack, use it with pride my son. By the way, be sure to stock up on ammo before you leave and take whatever else is necessary."

In Maria's chest, there was the same amount of money, but instead of a Vladof gun or a Jakobs revolver. Maria's chest contained a Maliwan slag, shock hybrid submachine gun, known as "Chulainn" a Hyperion shotgun called "Conference Call", and another note by Axton "Maria sweetie. These set of weapons belonged to your mother. Personally I always wanted that shotgun, but after she died I can't bear to even touch it. Your mother would want you to have these two weapons. Oh and there should be a journal in there for you. Your mom made that for you."

"Alright mine says we should take some ammunition and any other gun around us." Alan said.

"Mine says there's a journal for me." Maria inspects her own box.

"Well I'm going to take this Dahl sniper, and this Torgue double barrel."

"Kay I guess I'll take the incendiary Vladof Pooshka sniper rifle up here, and this acid Dahl Carbine."

"Alright we got our arsenal, now all that's left is to get to Pandora."

Maria adds a comment to what she's doing "You know I could lose all my chances for my doctorate degree for this."

"I get that, I lost my career for this already, let's just do this okay? For our family." Alan reassures his sister

"For our family." Maria repeats.

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**Please review, and you know what once your done reading, share this with your friends; talk about it on your facebook, or twitter. Just spread the word about this story anywhere you know or go. I'd appreciate it, because if you do spread i'll get more viewers, and the more views i get, means more reviews, and the more reviews i get means better stories.**


	5. Ch5 Shuttle Delay

**Here's my latest chapter of the Borderlands. The journey to Pandora begins!**

**By the way i'm sorry about the inconvenience on the last chapter i left a few minor mistakes.**

**(7/20/13) Since the new "Dishonored" DLC "The Brigmore Witches" I believe it's high time a fulfill that promise I made you all on my dishonored Fanfic.**

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At the shuttle station, Alan goes to the security station to explain why they're carrying weaponry on the premise. Maria goes to find an accessible schedule for them to get to Pandora. The only problem for Maria is that the only way to get to their destination is to drop down in an escape pod. It may have been years since anyone tried to humanize the planet, and they happen to be civilizing themselves, but it's still a dangerous planet. Over the past few years since Hyperion went broke, a resident of Pandora has actually been able to make contact with its neighboring planet by using a custom built radio. When Pandora found a signal all that the other planet heard was; Hhiiii theeeerre. Anybuddy there huh, huh, who anyon, hear me, hey who.

Basically the planet is still crawling with psychotic cannibals (So relax on that everyone) but there growing smarter inside those twisted little brains, like Sidney Gattlieb working to cure brain cancer in his own image.

Back at Alan's situation. It took some time to get the clearance pass, but they got permission. After a half hour they get the "all clear" pass to bring their equipment through security. Alan was halted by a charismatic guard.

"Hey wait!" Says the guard

"Yes?" Alan asks in nervousness

"You wouldn't be related to a man named Axton, would you?"

Alan is a bit startled to meet a security guard who knows his father. He clears his throat, and speaks clearly for him "As a matter of fact yes. He's my father. How'd you know about him?"

He looks at Alan in a shocking face. As if he was expecting Alan to already know, "He was my drill instructor when he served with Dahl. Oh, and um I forgot, I'm Zach." He introduces himself to Alan.

"Names Alan." They shake firm hands with friendly smiles on them.

"Wow, same grip as your father? Impressive." Zach comments.

"You know I never knew my dad was a drill instructor." Alan was hit with a new fact of his father's past life.

"Well not officially. He would usually be an instructor when he's on probation from the field."

"Oh…Didn't know that."

"Yeah he was loose cannon back then. Yeah good times. He's just like you kid."

Alan gives Zach a slanted brow, "How would you know about that?"

Now Zach looks as if Alan's being ridiculous, "Everyone knows about that stunt you pulled with the colonel. She was almost convened to court martial when you spoke out on what happened your father."

Now Alan feels like his ego is going out from the backside of his pants. The former position of his rank compared to the colonels has now come to attack him. He breathes in a quiet long breath, and speaks his mind, "That was uncalled for, I'll admit to that. All my life, me and my sister put school, necessities, and rank behind family. Our family always came first, everything else comes second. It's been like that since our mother died."

"Damn!" Zach says under his breath "I admire your determination son. Your father would be proud."

"If he ever showed it." Alan says that directly at him, with no holdback.

Zach counteracts, "Well he would if he ever showed it. Trust me, I would."

As Alan was about to turn tail, and walk away, Zach stopped him one more time, "Hey you're goin to Pandora, right?"

Alan just nods his head yes.

Zach comes closer to Alan and gives him this little trinket, "Then take these, for you and your sister. These are built in digistructing packs. Imagine these as flash drives, but instead of storing data, you store guns inside them. You can store about 23 weapons at a time in each, and it's lightless. Even if you have a rocket launcher in them."

"Thanks, this means a lot. It was nice talking to you Zach. Maybe we'll bump into each other when we come back." Alan compliments the help.

"Eh you never know. Maybe." Zach assures with no clue, if or will.

Alan finds Maria, who has already purchased their tickets "This took only ten dollars to get both of these tickets, and the only way were getting there is by escape pod. Talk about the worst class ever." Maria sarcastically says.

"Well I actually got good news. When I went to get our gun passes, I met a friend of our dad's, and he's giving us these digistructing packs for our weapons."

"What was his name?"

"Zach." He gave her the other pack. "Anyway I think you put these on the backside of your belt, and our guns should digistruct in our hands or something like that."

"Cool instant guns right on our belts."

"Attention passengers would the three who are scheduled for Pandora please report to hangar three." the intercom woman says.

"We have a third wheel?" Maria asks.

"I guess so. Let's go to where we need to board." Alan answers

When they made it to their designation they meet their third wheel. He's big, and brawn with a sleeveless leather jacket no other layers of shirts. On the back of his jacket it says; Cinder.

"Hello there." Maria says behind him.

"Hey there people!" He says with charisma in his voice.

"Is your name Cinder?" Alan concludes.

"Yeah. Did you read my jacket?" asks Cinder.

"Humph yeah!" Alan chuckles.

"Ooh, I like your leather clothing girl." Cinder compliments as nicely as he can.

Alan would've blocked the moment if he was bigger than Cinder, but even so he was real polite about it. Up at the shuttle, a man came down. Announcing for departure.

"All aboard who's going aboard!" The big man shouted.

Aboard in the passenger room of the shuttle, Alan and Maria sits at the front of the mid-section of seats, and Cinder finds a good comfortable pair of seats in the back. Alan decides to sit next to him so he can get to know the big man.

"So ugh Cinder. What's your business on Pandora?" Alan asks.

"It's because of my father, his name is Rick. I came from the planet Menoetius to find him. The last time we saw each other was when he went to Pandora to find my aunt. We lost contact with him as soon as he left for the door at home. Now I'm going to find him, and get some answers."

"Well. Everyone does deserve answer's to-… Wait, wait, wait hang on. His name is Rick?" Alan became astonished because that name does sound somewhat familiar.

"Well yes of course. That's his name."

"Hey Maria get over here, now!" Alan sounds serious for the moment. So she comes to the back.

"Sis, do you still have that list of names that dad gave us?" Alan asks.

"Uh yeah hang on." Maria reaches for the piece of paper in her pocket.

"Ugh here, I think I know what you're onto brother. Here you go."

She gives Alan the paper that Axton gave them before they left, and after blazing through the names, He found a similar name.

"Our father told us to go find this man on Pandora. His name isn't Rick, but actually 'Brick'."

Cinder has a crooked confusing expression on his face for a moment, then he suddenly turns to a relaxed, but surprising face.

"Oh my God? That's him! That's my dad!" Cinder shakes.

"Are you sure big guy?" Alan adds.

"Of course, I mean back when dad was with us, he use to box for a living. He was given that name 'Brick' for his hard punches even with those boxing gloves on. But that's not important. So you're trying to find my father too?"

"Not just your father, were looking for others. Others who can help." Alan answers

"Help you with what?"

"It's a secret." Maria states.

"We'll tell you when we get to Pandora." Alan reassures.

"Okay, and what about my father, were gonna find him right?"

"Of course we will Cinder. We'll find him." Maria assures.

"Hello there lady, and gents. As your pilot to the borderlands of Pandora I must ask if there's any loose ends to tighten now. This may be your last chance."

The word awkward has been written all over their faces by looking at this pilot. The pilot pulls three pens, and a stack of paper. Now their faces are just dumbstruck.

"Weird?" Alan blurts.

"Very." Cinder backs.

"Alright since there are no takers on any last wishes we will be off to Pandora. Please place your guns in the compartments in the storage area to my right if you would please."

"How did he know we brought guns? Our passes have clearance to keep our firearms on us. Something doesn't feel right about him." Maria thinks to herself.

After the shuttle takes off, they've been waiting for a heads up on their destination. Maria still can't put her finger on what made that guy so weird, perhaps a little too friendly. For a pilot who's taking just three people to Pandora is real weird. After lights out in the shuttle Maria tries not to sleep so she can catch a hint on something out of the ordinary, but so far nothing, and she eventually dozed off. The next morning Maria could barely sleep at all due to her suspicion, and it turns out that there was something real funky in the air. As the trio of passengers awaken from slumber, the pilot was nowhere to be heard, and the escape pods have all been jettisoned.

"Where did the pilot go?" Cinder asks.

"Not sure, but I had a feeling this was going on too easy." Alan said

"Couldn't agree more!" Maria says with a strange tone in her voice.

"So were stranded in this ship?!" Cinder Panics

"No not entirely!" Answered by the pilot's voice on the intercom. "You're actually going to the planet Aegis. Why there you may ask? Well it's because Claire told me, that whoever goes to Pandora, must suffer! Lucky for me I'm already out so I don't have to suffer."

Alan and Maria are absolutely scared. There going directly to the Newplasmas corporations CEO. They were absolutely speechless, except for Cinder.

"Why are you guys so scared, and who is this Claire?" Cinder asks.

"Claire is , the mysterious CEO of Newplasmas." Maria answers for Cinder

"Oh. How is this bad though?" Cinder is clueless.  
"She has plans that may not suit us in our travels." Alan informs to Cinder

"If she's gonna kill us, just tell me. Don't sugar coat it?"

"Whatever. Yeah she's gonna kill us! Happy?" Maria brutally answers with stress.

"Not really."

"Shocker." Maria says under her breath in sarcasm.

Sleeping gas fills the room knocking out the three passengers into a deep sleep.

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**In case you want to know, Sidney Gatlieb was Chemist for the CIA. Back in the Cold War he was in charge of a project that was trying to make mind control possible, but he ended up poisoning the brains of his test subjects.**

**But anyway please review, and suggest what may need to be fixed. Tootles!**


	6. Ch6 Familiar Faces

**Alright here's my latest chapter. In this one you'll meet two more characters to the team. One might be a little familiar for those who play as a certain character in Borderlands 2.**

**(7/20/13) Almost there.**

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Awakening from the gas wasn't easy, everything was a blur in their eyes. By the time they grew conscious, they find themselves restrained by solid light in a solitary room. As they start to become fully aware of their current situation they shrug in this strange contraption of restraints, but there was no chance of getting out. They can barely move at all. In front of them, a door opens to the top. Coming through the door and inside the room comes none other than the Queen of torture herself, Claire. She comes closer to the three captives she turns to the two smaller ones. She's quite surprised, and astonished.

"Oh my, I know your faces!" Claire hisses "Are you two the son and daughter of Axey?"

"It's actually Axton, but yes. He's our father." Maria answers.

"Well then were gonna have some real fun today. How's he doing by the way; is he suffering, drinking, suicidal, I must know" Claire turns her own amusement into a torturous sensation then turns to Cinder. "And you big guy. Where did you get these scars?"

"I got'em on the planet Ozark, taking care of imported Skags." Cinder said

"Animal lover… Just like your old man."

His face drops in shock.

"Well you three, I'm glad you're up. To be honest I was worried you were never gonna wake up at all."

Alan speaks his opinion in humor "And miss all this shit. Hah, no way, we love to party!" Alan says in sarcasm.

"Well aren't you a kick in my pants, you hunky junky." Claire forks her mouth in satisfaction

"Excuse me?" Alan answers with another question.

"Your father certainly was a masterpiece when it came to the bed." Now Claire is just twisting her words with her tongue now.

"Excuse me!?" Alan grows intense.

"Oh my, your dad didn't tell you? He and I were lusty-mates. Whenever your mother would give him a hard time, which was technically every week. He would come to me, and we'd talk all the time in the bed. Good times." Claire smirks.

Alan's fist's grow firm, with his knuckles sticking out white. Maria's face starts to grow tense on what she's saying

"That is a load of bullshit!" Alan swears.

"Are you sure?" Claire twists her excuse.

"Yes, he told us what happened between you, and him. Believe me we saw the truth of it in his eyes. You murdered our mother You Bitch!" Maria joins on her brother.

"Which is the truth; the one where I took his love away, or the truth of how all of this was all on him since the beginning." Claire persuades

"What are you saying?!" Maria asks in distraught.

"Well… Let me tell you a little story; before the story you were told about that night, Axton, and I were, well like I said, lusty-mates. He always came to me when he wanted to get away from your mother. We were doing more of our talking, until your mother found us. She then set my house on fire, killing my sister who was still asleep when it all happened." Her voice started to have a mourning tone as it went down to when her sister was mentioned. "Ever since then I promised myself retribution, and I'm still planning every move I make still, because there's still work to be done." Claire got up in Alan's face

"….Woman, bitch. That story is another heap of horse shit! All our lives, our parents were happy together, never have we seen them fight about anything of what you're telling us. You are a liar. An absolute fuckin liar!" Alan aroused in her face with no regrets on his screaming.

"Well it was worth a shot to get you manipulated,-" Claire admits that it was a lie "but hell it won't matter. Because I'll see to it personally that you and your sister will die by my hands just like I did to your mother. Once you two'r over, your father will now have three big pieces to lose. By then he'll probably have a noose around his neck. Face it you two, kill me or not you'll still lose." She turns away back to the door in her tapping high heel shoes. "Put our first batch of prisoners in their cell bays. And make sure they don't see the light of day!"

"By your orders, mistress." The guard bows his head waist level, and looks at Alan with a firm glare. Knowing that he yells at the "Mistress" made him tighten his grip on his club. He walks towards Alan with heavy footsteps, and wallops his head knocking him out cold in one swing.

"Oh and make sure you do the same to the big guy." Claire chuckles.

"It's Cinder! Just Cinder! What's up with your nicknames girl?" Cinder barks, and the guard doesn't like that at all.

The guard knocks him out cold, harder than Alan so he can just shut him up. When Maria was the only one awake, the guard prepares to hit her, but Claire phase's him still.

"I said do the same to the big guy. I didn't order you to put a hand on this one!" Claire corrects in a frightful tone.

"Sorry mistress." The guard apologizes as a giant weakling.

Claire then put's a hand on her hip. "Good. Now go find something else to do." Then she hoist's him up with her phase-still, and throws him out the door like a rag doll.

"Apologies missy, I guess I should apply puppets who follow order's, not soldiers who I don't control."

"Whatever." Maria says, rolling her eyes.

"Now don't be rude. I'm just trying to start a conversation, you majestic, dark purple haired woman."

She looks up to her brow. "…Thanks I aim to please with my hair."

"That makes two of us. Women like us always need to up their image. Right?"

"Women like us. We are not alike!"

"Oh honey, just like your mother. She wouldn't admit to it either. Come to think of it. I have to admit, you look just like her; your sleek eyebrows are purely your mothers, and you have your fathers lip texture though, but your mothers shape, and those eyes alone came from your mother, but your eye color comes from your father." Claire admires her aspects, but she suddenly goes back to her evil words "But no matter! Like your mother Maya, you try so hard. But you can never escape our destiny, and that is something I personally embrace proudly. Like you should do." Claire then tugs Maria's leather vest in her hands, and looks more serious, and frightening "And that is the fact that I am a Siren, we are Matriarch's to the Universe. Believe me sweetheart, the very air humans breathe, every planet they step on, every galaxy they travel, and every crevice they hide in, belongs to Siren's alone. Soon you will embrace why we must face our destiny as Sirens. You will soon see, but for now, I'll see you and your brother in the cell bay!"

"Our destiny as Sirens?!" Maria kept nagging in the back of her mind. While she was being dragged by two bulky guards.

Alan and Cinder wake up on the floor of their poorly lit prison cell. Both with heavy headaches by those hard knocks on the head.

"Wake up pal. We need you alive in here." Cinder says.

"Maria? Where's Maria!" Alan panics.

"Relax Alan I'm in the cell next to you guys."

"Okay… Okay… Okay? How are we gonna get outta here."

"You're not gonna get outta here as long as I am here." The guard says.

"Shut up and read your dirty magazines perve!" Cinder arouses.

"Whatever!" The guard says in a defeated tone as if Cinder were right about the magazines

"Okay. Gross!" Maria adds.

"Sorry Maria." Cinder apologizes.

For over two hours they've been sitting and doing nothing. During this time Cinder appears to be debating with himself in his head, during then he's only been saying; Yes, humph maybe, oh yeah yeah.

"Whatever he's agreeing with to himself, it better be a way out." Alan thinks to his own head. About another half-hour, Cinder gets up from his stool, and goes to the guard.

"Hey Dipshit! When's lunch?"

"A half hour from now, Dipshit!" The guard repeats. "So calm down, if your lucky it'll be something with meat."

"Will it be raw?"

"Why the Hell do you want it raw?"

"Because I don't want flea bags like you touching my food."

"Well in that case I'll see to it that it's extra raw with a raw egg to top it!"

"Thanks!" Cinder hunched around with a smile on his face.

Before Alan can ask why the smile or why the raw meat, Cinder puts a finger to his lip to let him know to be quiet, while following a wink in the eye."

Alan tries to not smirk at the unexpected idea Cinder's planning. He wants to ask but the guard may get a whiff of something off. Ding went the lunch bell, and Cinder's secret plan is starting to unfold. An anxious mood travels in his shaking fingers as he waits at the cell front, for his raw meat. The guard drops it on the floor kicking it towards the iron bars. The egg yolk jiggles, and slides all around the top of the uncooked beef.

"There's your raw beef, like I said. Now eat it you animal." The guard firmly orders

Cinder picked up the beef trying to keep the yolk still on top. Once he slid it through his cell bars, he just devours it, as if he really was an animal. The raw beef on his face, and the yolk splattered all over his chin actually made him look different. He quickly strips himself down and throws all of his clothes to Alan.

"You know sucker." Cinder glares at the guard. "You weren't wrong about me being an animal!"

This naked man starts to turn black with a thick coat of fur, following with claws at the edge of his fingers, his feet were starting to implode with his excessively growing fur, and the back of his head starts growing horns all the way down his back exposing his spine. After all those disturbing transformations in front of Alan and the guard, Cinder then grabs the bars to his cell, and shatters them like Styrofoam. Before the guard could react to this abomination, Cinder jabs his right hand into the guard's chest (Or in this case "claws".). He crushes the intestines that he had in his furry palm upon stabbing him. Alan shakes in his boots with a scared, childish look on his face as that guard's body drops to the floor. Cinder looks at him, and raises a hand as a sign to relax. Then Cinder walks to the next cell to pry Maria's cell.

"Relax Maria it's just Cinder. He's gonna get you out" Alan says before Maria has a chance to scream and alert anymore guards.

"Oh…Okay." She faintly says

"Relax my friends. I'm still Cinder under all this fur. I'll explain when we get out" Cinder growls after prying Maria's door open.

"Whatever let's get out before they come to inspect all this ruckus." Alan says

"Wait!" Maria suddenly sparks.

Maria goes to the guard's dead body to see what can be used for later, but all she finds is a Newplasmas handgun, and a club.

"Brother here, take this gun." Maria tosses the gun with the safety on.

"Alright then, your call." Alan switched the safety off, and the gun starts to glow a blue and white neon. "Whoah!"

"What?" Maria noses in.

"This gun." He shows the glowing gun to Maria. "I've never seen a Newplasmas gun like this."

"Hmph, Makes sense to keep the good stuff for themselves." Maria assumes.

"And sell all the shitty products to the public

"Probably. So why would they keep guns like these, and sell weak-ass guns to us." Cinder says in his animalistic voice.

"It doesn't matter right now Cinder, let's go. I'll take poi-" Alan was interrupted by a sudden power outage.

"What the Hell!?" Maria adds

"Just a power outage sis. Don't worry." Alan assures

The Red alert siren goes off along with the blinking red lights. Following by explosions in every direction of the ears.

"The test subjects are loose this is not a drill! Repeat, this is not a drill, the test subjects are loose!" Said someone over the intercom.

"Test subjects?" Maria adds.

"Not important Maria. We need to focus on us. Come on let's get out of here."

They exit their small prison room, with siren alarms around them, and a series of explosions rumbling the ground. Dark corridors after dark corridors, they didn't stop for anything. Arriving to what seems to be a storage room they were greeted by guards who were already dead by something not of explosives.

"What the hell happened here?" Alan kneels to the bodies

"I don't know brother, but we need to keep moving on. If were gonna find a way out of this-… Wait Shh." Maria silences.

Faint footsteps, and the sound of metal gears start to come into focus as they grow closer. Alan and Maria hide inside a storage box, while Cinder climbs up to the top shelf.

The two bogeys are in the room with Alan, Maria, and Cinder "So which way is your truck again?" Alan overhears one of them.

"It's down this way pass the court yard, out this door. Once we cross the courtyard my truck should be right under the bridge. After that were off to Pandora." Says someone in a robotic voice.

"They're going to Pandora?" Alan flinches.

"Wait. My heartbeat sensor has picked up three unknown signals. In this room." Says the robotic voice.

"Guards?" Says the man.

"No, their heart beats are going faster than usual, they must be scared civilians.

"Come on out, we won't hurt, we'll help you get off this facility!" The humanistic voice says.

Alan nods his sister to be the first to stick out to see who's calling them out. The human person was slightly pale, clean shaved, half naked from the waist up, and had two katana blades strapped to his back. The other was a floating robot with only half a torso, but the weirdest thing about him is that he has this robotic arm tied to a chain around his neck.

"Hey you two." Alan says to get their attention. "You with the blade's, were over here."

Alan stands up from inside his crate following Maria.

"Hello there, my name is Zero.12. I am a clone of the assassin Zer0 How many of you are here?" Zero.12 asks.

"Just three; me, names Alan by the way. My sister Maria, and our third friend is up on the top shelves."

Maria's face jolts to when she hears the name "Zer0". She wants to inform him about the list, but now is not a good time.

The robot floats closer to Alan and Maria's position "Greetings new friends, I am a custom engineered D374-TP death bot, but I prefer to be called by my new model number, 2N4P-TP or by my nickname, "Snaptrap" if that's alright with you? Now then let us all get to my liquor truck."

"Liquor Truck!?" Cinder roars, and slams to the floor from his hiding spot, up top.

The pale man pulled out both of his blades pointing them to Cinder.

"No, no, no, no wait!" Maria jolts.

"This is our animal friend Cinder. Cinder this is…" Maria dozes off when staring at Zero.12's slender abs. "… This is Zero.12."

"Hi there shirtless man." Cinder introduced. "I never did like being shirtless. I'm no Hollywood poser" The big fury animal man says.

"Okay?" Zero.12 said in confusion. "Now then, my friend Snaptrap says his truck is underneath the bridge, across the courtyard. Take these guns. I found them after looting the captain's office."

"Hang on. These are our guns!" Maria notices.

"Hell, must be a stroke of luck, my Sabre Suit is in here to, and our digistructing packs as wel." Alan says with the enjoyment of luck.  
After gearing up with their weaponry, Alan and Maria were ready to storm the court yard with Cinder, and their two new teammates.

Alan powers up his Sabre suit, Maria revs up her Siren powers in her hands, Cinder works up his appetite for destruction, Snaptrap charges his energy weapons, but Zero.12 pulls out his two blood stained katana blades to a halt.

"Alan let me go first, I have an idea." Zero.12 warns.

"What's your plan?" Alan demands.

"If anyone has explosives on them, blow a hole right here. Next to the door." Zero.12 points. "Once the hole's been made you all get to cover, shield your ears and wait until I say to come out."

"What are you gonna do?" Maria wonders.

"Just trust me sweetheart." Zero.12 reassures and winks at her.

Maria's face turns bright red, and looks in a different direction.

"I got explosives, back up." Alan had the honors of using his Sabre suit's grenade launcher to blow a hole to the courtyard. It only took one sticky, longbow, MIRV grenade to just blow the one colossal hole in the wall.

Zero.12 then charges out first with his blades at the ready. In front of him was an entire group of Claire's guards, armed to the teeth with guns.

"Nice try kid, but I think you just brought a couple of blades, to a gun show." Says a guard in the front.

"I laugh at your guns, Bee-otch's! Common, hit me! I dare you! I dare you all!" Zero.12 enrages recklessly.

Every guard fires directly at the screaming man. Every one of his friends behind him reside in cover beside the hole in the wall as ordered.

"What the Hell's his plan, he's just getting shot up out there." Alan Thinks.

"Now everyone! " Zero.12 yells after all the guns ran out of ammo. "Killem!"

In a quick moment of shock they all bombard out, and unleash Hell. Every guard went down in a matter of seconds in one bloody wave.

"Perfect my friends." Zero.12 cheers.

"Whoa hang on how are you still alive after eating that much lead?" Cinder growls.

"Who said anything about me eating lead? I told you to trust me didn't I?" Zero.12 asks with pride in his work.

"You did, but how did you not get a single hit from any of those bullets?" Maria wondered.

"Well I have my two best friends for that." Zero.12 pulls out his two katana blades that he calls his friends. "Sweetheart Meet Steel to my left, and Fury on my right. Oh and this bullet absorbance shield I found in the captain's locker did help a bit, the rest came from Steel, and Fury."

Maria's face was just blank, she was actually amused, but disturbed in her mix of feelings.

"Come on friends my truck is right under us!" Snaptrap reminds.

"Good. Wait you guy's said you were goin to Pandora too, right?" Alan wonders.

"Yes. At first Snaptrap told me he got a message written to come rescue me, just me though. He didn't say anything about you guys." Zero.12 says.

"What your just gonna leave us here? Is that what you're saying?" Alan argues.

"No, no, no of course not. He just didn't tell me about you guys that's all."

"Alright then let's get to the truck. I'm thirsty!" Cinder roars.

As they were all boarding the beer truck Maria still has what Claire said to her, stuck in her head.

_**The very air humans breathe, every planet they step on, every galaxy they travel, and every crevice they hide in, belongs to Siren's alone.**_

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**Hope this chapter was enjoyable, and if you think Claire is horrible so far, you'll have no idea what she'll plan next. Believe me. Trust me it'll get better.**

**Review and tell me what you thought about the chapter, and review for those who thought that Zero.12's stunt was priceless.**

**Hey for those who want to read about the original vault hunters might i recommend Purpleninjacat278, and Lavendarfox. They both have the skill to wow me. I'm sure they'll do the same to you.**


	7. Ch7 Beer Run

**Here's my long awaited chapter for "New faces, new tyrant."**

**(7/20/13)**

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With Alan's thinking face, which is just putting his fist in front of his mouth, he can't help but ask "Does anyone find this too easy?" Alan said with suspicion in his eyes.

Zero.12 responds kicking his back in the chair, looking real bored. "Alan, the only thing easy in this container is watching your pet animal friend chug down two beer bottles at once." Zero.12 says being a smartass.

Cinder is still in animal form, and held two bottles of bud light in each hand. Most of it went down his chops, but the rest dripped on his fur. He doesn't respond until he fully swigs down each bottle. "Wat? You cand hold down ya licka son?!" Cinder roars while intoxicated.

"No, it just seems to be the only entertainment on this rust bucket." Maria says while inspecting her Dahl carbine.

"No worries there pial." He now raises his hand and points to Zero.12 "Yi know, you startin to remind me of soomewon in rid, and blick taats. Forgit tis name doe, but he luvs his blades, almos es he does with guns, wimen, and his mout." Cinder starts to get drowsy in the eyes, and his snout starts to drool as if he has rabies, but it didn't take long for him to fall down sleeping.

Then Zero.12 turns his head to Maria in confusion.

"A man who loves his blades as much as his mouth, guns and women. Who the Hell's that?" Zero.12 raised an eye brow.

"I don't know, but he sounds like someone my brother would get along with though." Maria didn't even look up to see Zero.12's face. After she loads her carbine she begins to inspect her Hyperion Shotgun.

Alan then raises his chin, and rolls his eyes in agreement. After that little question, Cinder turns back to his humanistic, less hairy self. The fur slowly shrinks back into his skin. Alan thinks it would be a good time to hand him back his clothes, since it was able to fit his naked, human self again.

"So Cinder is this you're real self?" Zero.12 says in confidence, and offers a hand for him to get up.

"Ugh… Yeah it's me. I'm still Cinder too." With the help of Zero.12's hand, Cinder rises up getting sober as he makes it to his feet. "Just to be honest I'm not much, but I'm enough of who I am. If you know what I mean?"

"Oh yeah. Definitely yeah…" Zero.12 agreed, as he nods.

"Agreed." Alan adds to the conversation, still thinking of his suspicion.

"Ditto." Maria adds while inspecting her incendiary, Vladof Sniper.

"Amen!" Snaptrap yells optimistically while driving.

Zero.12 thinks now would be a good time to ask who Cinder was talking about at first.

"Oh, by the way. Who's that man in red, and black tights you were talking about before?"

"I never heard of such a person, where did you hear of this guy?" Cinder opposes.

Everyone starts to look at Cinder, as if he were playing dumb with them, but Zero.12 can see the truth in his face. So he covers it up as if it never happened.

"No one, it's probably just someone I imagined."

"Yeah. There's no shame in imagining people like that, people need to think about stuff that doesn't make sense sometimes." Cinder agrees as if he's forgotten that he was intoxicated, and then he spoke his mind. "Hey I got an idea everyone."

"What'cha got there in that animal mind of yours Cinder." Alan speaks for everyone.

"Well we all may know certain people, but do we all know each other?"

"No, no we don't." Zero.12

"So how about I start." Snaptrap offers still behind the wheel. "Now I believe some of you noticed this arm I keep, chained around my neck, well for those who didn't notice here it is." Snaptrap shows the people behind him mechanical arm necklace. "This arm belonged to my mother, Gaige."

Alan interjects with those words, "Don't you mean your creator?"

Snaptrap rejects that comment with a witty comeback "Alan that's like me calling your mother a creator, please don't say that again!"

"Touché… And sorry." Alan agrees feeling racist against robots for the moment.

"It's okay, I haven't seen her in a while, but she left me her arm. I never take this thing off, it helps me feel more human, more self-controlled. Instead of self-aware, I feel self-control when I have this arm around me."

"That makes a lot of sense Snaptrap." Alan adds "Alright now, who's ne-

"Whoa, whoa, the radar is showing inbound targets of unknown origin." Snaptrap informs them in a frightened tone of voice.

"I knew this was too easy, I knew it!" Alan stresses.

"The Newplasmas Corporation must've found us. What'da we do?" Cinder Panics, shaking a beer spewing it all over his hand.

"Does anyone have any ideas back there?" Snaptrap yells from the cockpit.

"I have one!" Maria answers. "Brother, remember when I was in that survival pod back home. It also gave me time to practice my siren powers in the process."

"Well do what you can sis." Alan informs.

"Good, but first I'll need you to give me some space." Maria orders backing into the rear of the truck. "Everyone head for the front of the truck, I'm gonna need a lot of space here." She then starts to glow dimly.

"You heard my sister get away from her, give her some room." Orders given by her brother, Alan shoves everyone to the front.

Back where Maria has enough room to settle, and ignite her powers. Purple auras start to irradiate from her skin, her purple hair, and empty beer bottles lift up in the air as if there's no gravity around, her tattoos begin to glow bright white, and a pair of bright golden wings open up from behind her back. As she takes a hold on the wall behind her, her eyes begin to glow through her eyelids.

"Gentlemen, brace for a warp jump." Maria says in a calm, and powerful tone.

She doesn't give them enough time to get a good grip for the warp. Going through warp speed was just instant, no sign of the trigger. By the time the others notice that they made it through the warp, they were already light years away from the enemy, and slamming the beer trucks forward hull right on Pandora's doorstep. The truck won't stop going faster by the mile, exceedingly picks up momentum. The passengers of the truck can't move at all, not even flinch. As they reach Pandoras atmosphere they start to slow down. The ships layers begin to burn off in the lower stratosphere. About six miles above the planet's surface, the city of Opportunity was in sight. Trying to land near the city wasn't like shooting a gun to the target. On Snaptrap's end of the shuttle isn't working. It's hard to get into landing formation at this given speed. Maria settles her powers a decent amount to give Snaptrap an edge. Slowing down the ship is not easy for Maria either. With all the juice she just used to power up the truck, isn't easy to take out. She did what she could do, but the rest is up to Snaptrap to stop this truck.

"This shuttle isn't stopping. The brakes are broken." Snaptrap panics.

"Wait, wait, Snapratp give it more juice, and straighten it forward." Alan suggests. Coming from behind Snaptrap, towards in the cockpit.

"What'll that do Sir?" Snaptrap looks back at Alan in question.

"Just trust me, and do it."

Snaptrap presses his magnetic foot into the gas, going faster than expected. As ordered by Alan, he hoists the shuttle forward to a 90 degree angle. It was a deep, and sudden dip, but they are still going faster than needed.

"Now just let go of the gas, so it can stop naturally."

Snaptrap slowly let's go of the gas pedal. As it starts to slow down, their altitude starts to plummet.

"Maria, you need to catch the ship to slow down our fall. Are you able?" Alan asks.

The people begin to lose their stance on the floor of the truck, and start to float inside.

"As long as I don't lose my stomach in the process then yes!" Maria

While dangling in the air in the truck, Maria grabbs enough of herself to ready her new phase ability. She forms a little purple ball inside her palms, and moments later she expands it to surround the entire truck, slowing down everything and everyone in the big bubble. The bottles of liquor dangle in the motionless air. For what seems to be minutes they've been floating into nothing, but soon the pink ball decreases in mass, and shrinks back into Maria's hands.

"What the hell was that?" Zero.12 gags before he spews.

"My new phase locking ability, I can slow down gravity in that pink ball we were just in."

"Ugh God, have we landed though sis?" Alan asks during his state of nausea, holding his head with his hands.

"Yeah while we were in zero-gravity I directed the ball to take us to the outskirts of Opportunity." Maria say's as if she never got sick in the process

"How in the Hell are you not sick after that strange rag doll sweetheart?" Cinder said to Maria in the same condition as Alan.

"Hmm I'm not sure, probably because I made the bubble."

"Lucky witch." Cinder blurts.

"Hey watch your chops there Cinder! That's my sister!" Alan argues. He points his finger to him with serious eyes, and still with a head ache.

"I am, why do you think I called her a witch instead of- well you know?"

"…Point taken." Alan remarks.

"Can we just get out of this truck I need a breather." Zero.12 says after recovering.

"Here let me get the door." Snaptrap says, getting out of the driver's seat. He retracts his pedal feet back on his person.

"That was absolutely wild. Wasn't it Z-12?" Cinder replies to Zero.12 while shrugging his sleeveless shoulder.

"Z-12?" Zero.12 says to Cinder in confusion while rubbing his hurt shoulder from Cinder's hard shrug.

Cinder turns his head, and shoulders to look back to "Z-12" "Yeah, Z-12 sounds faster, and easier to say. Think of it as a nickname. Buddy."

"Not bad I like that." Z-12 lifted an eyebrow in agreement.

Snaptrap opens the door to embrace Pandora's sun on his gleaming metal plating, while the others were covering their eyes, due to the suns rays. Stepping out of the truck, and walking on solid ground was quite assuring for some. In front of them is the city of opportunity, and a man dressed like a mexican cowboy.

"Alright you four. Hands where I can see them." Demanded by the man with two Vladof Infinities in his hands. "What's your business here?"

From the looks of it, this guy also carries two Torgue Pocket Rocket's on his sides, and two sawed off shotguns by Jakobs slung on his back.

"Who're you supposed to be?" Alan says who's almost caught up with his stomach.

"I'm askin the questions here jackass!" says the man whose voice is getting tighter.

"Don't mind him sir we've been under a lot of rough riding in this beer truck. Um our business here is to find the people on this list." Maria pushes her brother aside to calm him down, and shows him the list.

The man's face starts to glow and widen his eyes, later stress glitters all over his forehead "Are you two the son and daughter of Axton?" The man says with his head jolting to the two.

"Yes, we are. You know him?" Alan asks who finally catches up with his stomach.

"No but my uncle knew him. In fact his name is on this list, Salvador is his name." Salvador's nephew explained.

"Well does Salvador's nephew have a name too?" Cinder backs, with his arms across his waist

"It's Ricardo, my name is Ricardo."

"It's nice to meet you Ricardo; The big body builder here is Cinder, he's the son of Brick, Alan and Maria are the son and daughter of Axton, The robot you see is named Snaptrap, and I'm Zero.12, or Z-12 from now on, but it's whatever you prefer I'm a clone of the assassin Zer0." Z-12 introduces them all, while he shoves his way pass Cinder, to get a better look at who Salvador's nephew looks like.

"Snaptrap? Hang on, you look familiar." Ricardo pondered.

"My mother's name was Gaige, back then she called me Deathtrap." Snaptrap answers.

"Okay then, now about this list. I know where some of these people are, but I'll take you to Lilith, she's runs this city, and she can probably tell you more on where everyone else is. Come on I'll-"

"Wait a minute, Lilith run's this city?" Maria Interrupts.

"She took over the city when Hyperion left it for a ghost town." Ricardo Explains putting his Vladof Infinities, back on his torso holsters over his fringed jacket. "Come on I'll take you to her."

"What about my truck?" Snaptrap argues with Ricardo.

"What about the truck?" Z-12 butts in, wondering in confusion.

"I can't just leave it here, especially with the cargo intact, and vulnerable." Snaptrap points out with his claws directing to the door.

"Then give it to me I can actually drink the liquor other than you, you don't even have a stomach to consume it with." Cinder racially noted.

"Well you are not wrong, but please don't bring up me being a robot. I am Self-controlled" Snaptrap warns putting a finger in Cinder's face.

"Hey ladies stop arguing on who's prettier. How about you split up. Ugh Cinder, and Snaptrap take the liquor to Moxxi, and Ellie's. They're the bartenders down the street." Ricardo points the road that leads to the bar's direction.

"Alright whatever, come on." Snaptrap directs his attention to Cinder. "Come on, you heard Ricardo, just don't make another comment like that. I'm trying to control this."

"Sure." Cinder says, nodding fo cooperation.

Then Ricardo discusses for everyone else "The rest of us will go see Lilith. Come on"

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**Here we go everyone this is where the fun begins. Review, and tell me what you think**


	8. Ch8 Salty Pandora

**I know i said i'd make a Dishonored chapter next, but i completely forgot. Just for future reference the next chapter for my Dishonored story will be after a nonlethal outcome, and it will be given a new title. Until then enjoy what i have just cooked up for you on Microsoft Word Processor.**

**(7/20/13)**

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Cinder, and Snaptrap split the group to take the truck load of liquor to Moxxi, and Ellie's bar. The rest have taken a seat in the trunk of Ricardo's bandit truck. Alan thought of how Cinder, and Snaptrap are getting along after the statement Cinder made about Robot racism. Alan didn't even know that robot's had racial tendencies to begin with, before his own comment, but he knows that Snaptrap forgives him. Even in this somewhat high tech ghost city, the salty wind of the planet dances on the faces of the group

Maria hasn't said much during this ride, she just can't get those words out of her head. The words that Claire told her _"The very air humans breathe, every planet they step on, every galaxy they travel, and every crevice they hide in, belongs to Siren's alone." _And what does she mean by _Matriarchs of the universe_, what is she planning? Maria can't muster these thoughts to understand what all this means. She remembers her father Axton telling them that she's going to attack soon, and it will involve her brother, father, and herself. She has so many ciphers to crack and no key to solve them, so far.

Z-12 is burying himself in questions, with no answers out of them. He began daydreaming to recap the very first thing he noticed when he came into this world. Waking up, covered in creamy water, and regurgitating dry saliva on his knees like an animal in front of the robot, Snaptrap. It's the earliest moment of his life he can remember. He was given the name Zero.12 by his pod number he was broken out of. Yet most of his questions are who he personally is. Who his original self is, where he is, and most importantly why did these people clone him in the first place?

After a while of driving Maria decides to leave her thinking bubble and start socializing with Z-12. Ricardo just sat there with a blank face. With Maria trying to spark a flare in Z-12, Alan thinks he can spark Ricardo's flare too. Thinking of what to say to a man who's wearing a badge that says "The BADASS sheriff of Opportunity" is hard though. Maybe he can ask how his work keeps him busy, or does he have any friends, and then it finally hits him on what to converse about.

"So Ricardo I gotta ask, when did you first arrive on Pandora?" Alan asks weakly.

Ricardo just turns his head, looking at him in a solid, tough, cowboy smirk, and goes back to watching the road. It was just dead silence for Alan, and Ricardo all the way to Opportunities' City hall. Alan can't tell if Z-12, or Maria are actually talking to each other back there, but Alan didn't have the nerve to look back there, he just thinks it be best for it to be silent on his end with no sign of interruption. They finally arrive at city hall in what felt like fifteen minutes that's been stretched into one hour for Alan so it seems. He, Maria, and Z-12 piled out of the truck, but Ricardo kept the engine running

"Alright I'm going to break off to the bar to check on Snaptrap, and Cinder. My friends EC, and Haley will take you guys the rest of the way. They'll usually be in the lobby" Ricardo reassures, driving away towards the east.

The three enter the front door, to see the main lobby. The tile floor was a black and white pattern, the chandelier has mostly flickering light bulbs, or none that were just depleted and wooden railing stair cases. Maria, and Alan felt as if they were in the lobby of a mansion poorly clean, compared than their father's home. On the right side of the lobby are a few couches, a table with half eaten pizza, and playing cards, a big television, and a bar table with stools. Over at the couch is a woman with dirty blonde hair from the looks of it, watching some cheesy propaganda commercial from the Vladof news network. Alan wants to approach the girl, but his feet froze in place when an arrow strikes him inches beside his head to the left. Alan, and Maria flinch to find the source from where the arrow was shot, but found no one is to be seen. Z-12 doesn't flinch as hard as the others, but the feminine, dirty blonde takes notice of the arrow. Looking at the arrow, Alan finds a note wrapped around it. It says _"It's rude to stare!"_ Alan folds the note and put it in his pocket, and shouted.

"Care to show yourself? Because you're right, it is rude to stare. Again, your right come on out, you got me." Alan shouts as if he were yelling to the lobby itself.

At the corner of the right side of the upper floor, another woman in dark chocolate hair, wrapped in a tight pony tail appears out of hiding. If Alan thought he was staring too hard at the dirty blonde, than he needs a mirror of what his face looks like while staring at this girl. He's mesmerized in her dark blue eyes before a red bird the size of an eagle swoops right in front of his face. The dark haired girl snaps her fingers and gives a whistle with her fingers, probably to signal the bird. As an obedient pet, the bird flies to the girls' arm that she holds out for it. The dirty blonde gets up from the couch, to see what all the fuss is about. Walking towards them, the dark haired woman comes down the stairs with the red bird repositioning itself on her right shoulder. As the blonde comes closer to the three at the door, Maria was able to make out her tattoos. Maria has light blue colored tattoos, but as this blonde haired woman came closer, she can see that her tattoos are ruby red, it sparkles as if they really were rubies. As the two girls approach them, Alan was the first to speak up.

"Forgive for staring at you two." Alan began looking down at the black and white tile pattern in shame. He takes in some breath, and speaks carefully of how to say this simple sentence. "I'm Alan, this is my sister Maria. We are the son and daughter of Axton, and Maya."

"You can look up Alan it's okay. My friend EC was just joking around with the staring." The blonde says with heavy optimism.

"Your name is EC?" Maria points out to her. She then nods along with her red bird.

"Then that must make you Haley." Z-12 points out to the blonde. "Oh my, where are my manners. I'm Zero.12, or Z-12 from now on."

Both of the girls' faces widen after hearing that name. Z-12 looks at them in a confusing face, with a raised eyebrow. Alan, and Maria looked at EC and Haley.

"Is there something wrong?" Z-12 was downright confused

"No, no, no, no it's just that…. We never thought we'd hear that name again." Then Haley starts to bite her lip, and look around the room as if she didn't mean to say that.

"Again?" Z-12 bit.

Alan then raised his hand to stop the current mystery or at least save it for later so they could get back on track. Maria then notices EC petting her bird with what seems to be a bottle cap for a glass beer bottle.

"Anyway, Ricardo brought us here to see Lilith, and he was hoping you two would take us the rest of the way." Alan changes the subject, hoping he won't get an arrow to the head for no one.

The two girls look at each other, and nod to one another. Haley agreed to take them to see Lilith, but EC left the door so she could meet the others at the bar. After they were given the chance to move, Alan looks back at EC for just a moment, because that bird was staring back at him. He turns back quickly to avoid another encounter with her bird. Maria, and Z-12 were already up the stairs, but Alan was still a bit shook due to the arrow and bird so he was pretty slow catching up. Alan catches up with the rest to find broken statues of Handsome Jack heavily tampered with; Graffiti, vulgar language, and they're slowly deteriorating. They were presented in rows through the main hallway. Passing through the halls of creepy shattered statues is a big door. Haley opens the left side of the door, and welcomes the three inside to her mediation room, but after looking at the interior shape, it resembles more of a master bedroom. In the corner to the far right was a woman with fading red hair. If Axton's photo of his old group serves them right that must be the Siren Lilith. The same one who taught their own mother.

"Lilith…" Maria barely babbles under her breath.

After just standing in front of her for about three minutes that felt like thirty, she breaks out of her Zen state, and picks up her body. Popping her aging joints, and back she finally notices that she has newcomers to the planet. Maria was spooked to see another Siren, since she hasn't seen one, since before her mother died. Alan doesn't show anything special on his face, but inside he was humbled to meet a friend of his parents. Z-12 shows no expression at all.

"Haley, who are these three?" Lilith's voice didn't sound as old as she looks.

"The tall one is named Zero.12, or Z-12 if you prefer." She then widens her eyes, smiles to him and show s her hand directing her to him.

"Z-12?" he nods to Lilith on the correct pronunciation of his new name.

"Well'um… eh ugh um." She bites her lip in confusion on what she's thinking of what to say "Ugh may I talk to you, tonight. Alone, Z-12?"

"Sure." Z-12 was curious on why the staggering conversation lead to a private meeting on sundown.

"Well anyway'um… Uh this is Alan, and Maria, they're the children of Axton and Maya." Haley finishes off her introduction to the new visitors, but the moment she heard the name's Axton, and Maya, her face turns into a shocking gasp. Her gaze turns to Haley. "Whoah hang on! These two are Axton's children?!" Lilith suddenly turns her face in the direction of Alan, and Maria's presence. They were concerned to what her reaction is towards the fact that their father is Axton.

"Okay I may have asked to see Z-12 alone, tonight," Lilith was pointing to Z-12 "but I need to see you two alone, right now!" Then she was pointing directly at the floor, emphasizing the last two words she said.

"We'll meet you at our technical. Okay?" Haley reassures to Alan, and Maria.

Maria nods for her and her brother, and Haley closes the door with Z-12 behind her. Lilith starts pacing the floor with a hand on her face to support her head, and mumbling their father's name. After a few rounds of paces, she finally speaks.

"Okay, okay… I need answers" She took a deep breath "Why are you two here?"

"…Claire." Alan just winded out that one name, and the very poison of the very sound of her name seep's deep into Lilith's mind.

"Claire!?" Alan, and Maria just nods yes to Lilith's reaction. After a moment of a frozen face, she flushes the reaction on her face, and clears a fresh look so she can ask this next question.

"Why are you here for Claire?" Lilith asks, clearing her throat.

"Axton. He says she's planning something big here, and once she's done here, she'll see to it the whole universe is next." Maria backs her brother with what her father said to them.

"…You two. Are you saying your father Axton, sent you two here?" Lilith glares to check for any upcoming lies.

"Yes, he warned us that her plan boils here." Maria explains as briefly as possible. Lilith takes in a deep breath, wipes her brow from stress, lowers her head and says the next three words with her breath. "Damn it Axton!"

"He was drunk when we left." Alan said that for reasons he can't answer under this stress.

"Whatever… Alright-" She gestured her hands to be in peace for the conversation to come "the last I saw Axton, he was hoisting your mother's body on the shuttle, and before he stepped inside that ship, the last promise I told him was, and I quote-" Showing another finger to show she's serious "Never come back, don't send anyone here, don't call, nor write, Hell don't even look at our planet anymore let alone think about it. I was expecting him to break that promise eventually, but I didn't expect that he'd send his own children to break it." Her fading, golden red hair then started to lighten into fire "Damn it Axton!" Lilith loudly grits, balling her fists.

Before Alan, or Maria can make a gesture to just say anything, she was halted by Lilith "Da, da, da, just go, that'll be all from you two. Go catch up with the others, and we'll talk after that."

Alan and Maria just slowly back up towards the exit without looking behind themselves. When Alan reaches the doorknob Maria was the first to dash out of the door. Alan calmly fast speed walks down the stairs to meet the others at the technical. When Alan arrives outside to get in the technical, Maria already makes herself comfy in the passenger seat of the technical, with Z-12 taking a snooze from the looks of it in the back. Alan didn't say anything, he just climbed to a roomy spot in the trunk next to Z-12, and let Haley drive them to where ever she plans to take them. Alan's been looking up staring at the foreign sky of Pandora, watching the stars blend with the bright sunny sky. Yet even with a sky that nice, the air is still salty. Alan's pretty sure it'll be second nature to him after a while. Giving his neck a break, he looks to see Z-12 still asleep. He must've had a rough day, Alan thinks. About ten minutes of salty wind in their faces, and bumpy roads, and Z-12 finally waking up, they pull to a stop to what seems to be the bar people are going to. The neon sign above the entrance wrote "Foxxy Moxxi's" in pink and red neon color. At this point for Alan, he just wanted to sit down and drink something that's edible, poison or not. He climbs out the trunk, but before he can step through the door, his sister is still sitting in the passenger, vaguely shaking. He goes to see what's rattling through her head so he can drink with no regrets on anything in his head. He puts a hand on her shoulders to assure her that it's okay, and they'll get through this. Maria eventually shakes her head vigorously to get out of whatever she was spooking in her head, and join the others in the bar. Inside this bar are thing's Alan, and Maria should've expected from a planet that's full of psychopaths, and barely sane civilians. Even Z-12 is dumbstruck in irony.

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**Believe me you will not regret the cliff hanger, i have something in store for this bar that will make you spine twitch, and for those who wonder about Claptrap. You will either be grossed out or laugh your heads off. Anyway same as usual, review, view again, and enjoy.**


	9. Ch9 Bar Night

** Listen i know i said i'd make another Dishonored chapter, but today i just started my Summer classes at the university of a state i'd rather not say. Still I enjoyed writing this chapter, i'm sure it will please you readers. This chapter will explain a few characters, and their backgrounds. Don't worry, this is quite an enjoyable chapter.**

**(8/1/13) Forgot to do a few of these.**

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The first thing that's worth a notice, aside from the ravenous, and repetitive music was that the exotic dancers are not human, not psychopathic, not desperate for money, not even getting paid for their exposure, in fact the dancers aren't even wearing flesh to be considered a species. Just digital holograms of the same woman, a woman with a lot of makeup on her face, a top hat, and dark hair. The makeup on the face could be just the texture on the holographic strippers. The cheering locals around the stage don't seem to care about the fact that they're holograms.

"Guess when you've been on this planet for a while you'll take any chance to see anyone, or anything dancing naked in front of you." Alan thought

Walking down the stair's to this bizarre strip bar came three CL4P-TP units. Two of them were painted to look like waiters, and the one in the middle was all in black, and had a fedora hat to make him look like a mafia boss.

"All this steward bot needs is a cigar, and the right kind of brass music from those old mob movies around him." Maria thinks.

Aside from Maria's chuckle from her sudden thought, it was starting to smell like cigar smoke in here all of a sudden. There's no sign of smoke in the air though, probably her imagination.

"Be-gone you two, go find tables to clean!" the middle Steward bot orders, and as the two wheel away, the mafia looking one came closer to Alan "Welcome to Foxxy Moxxi's human, I am a 3RCL4P-TP manager bot, but you may address me as my local name, Mr. Claptrap. Oh!" Mr. Claptrap notices something off about his three newcomers. "Oh dear maker, you three don't have the required gear for this planet. Eh no worries I'll see to it that someone gives you spares." Mr. Claptrap wheels towards the back underneath the stage of the Holographic strippers.

"Brother, for a manager bot, he certainly knows how to carry an old mafia vibe." Maria comments to Alan under her breath.

"Eh no kiddin." Alan opens his eyebrows briefly for emphasis.

Coming from under the cash register booth, a Claptrap steward pops out with three echo devices in both of his robot claws.

"Here are your very own personal echo devices, and a built in heads up display. Provided free of charge by our fearless leader, Mr. Claptrap. Now then, enjoy the booze till you drop, and the women till your dry. Tootles!" Directing his right claw to the main bar area, said the Claptrap before he left to the cash register booth.

After their HUD's were done loading they made their way to the main bar area, Alan is hoping to find some real strippers to pay for, but mostly to find a drink. As they came closer to the smell of booze, Alan noticed that Maria was getting use to the smell without getting signs of nausea, Z-12 is starting to loosen up due to the smell, and acting more human than an emotionless ghost. On their way to the bar, they find a few men getting lap dances, on… My god, a Claptrap unit with a bikini. In the same voice, and it's painted to look like an actual stripper. After the three took notice, Alan just turns and walks towards the smell of alcohol, not saying a single comment, Maria just shakes her head and follows her brother, and Z-12 just takes a brief chuckle, and said "Desperate sons of bitches" under his breath. As Z-12 catches up with the others, the smell finally found them to the bar, and everyone else they met; Snaptrap, Cinder, Ricardo, EC, and Haley. Since Snaptrap didn't have any need to drink booze, he just stood next to the bar, with a can of Gasoline. Watching his friends drink their own booze from the truck. There was only one seat left, Alan decides to let Maria have it, if she wants it, so he invites Z-12 to share a booth with him. He accepts Alan's invitation, and Maria saw to the last barstool. Alan and Z-12 were greeted by a claptrap unit in a French waitress design.

"Greetings, what can I get you two today; Rakk ale, Wurmwater rum, Mali-Margarita, Vladof's Freedom Vodka, or any other assortment of drinks anywhere in the sector. Oh and we also got a new shipment of Mr. Torgue's new Torguesplosion beer?"

Alan, and Z-12 look at each other with the word awkward written on both of their faces. Alan was the first to speak up to the robot.

"Umm, I'll try the Rum." Alan vouches, and appoints Z-12's decision for himself.

"…I guess I'll try your Torguesplosion beer" Z-12 decides.

"Alright got it. Be back soon." Says the Claptrap.

The moment the waitress left, Z-12 began to spark a conversation.

"Hey Alan I gotta ask you since were now in friendly territory… How did you end up on Aegis?" Z-12 asks.

"Well… We were on our way to Pandora, until we realized our shuttle was being hijacked, by a lackey from Claire, the CEO of Newplasmas.

"So that's her name." Z-12 assures himself.

"Okay my turn, when you pulled out your blades, ugh…" Alan snaps his fingers when he got the answer in his train of thought "Steel, and Fury against an entire group of armed soldiers. I remember you saying something childish, and stupid but once we made it to the truck you suddenly calmed down as if you never did anything. You care to explain that?"

Z-12 looked at Alan with a clueless face "Honestly, I don't know where those words came from. I felt like I had sudden surge in my blood to just, show off. And as for deflecting those bullet's… I was just as surprised as you guys." Z-12 was just staring at the table, until he looked up to stare at Alan's confused face, "Above all I can't really explain what happened back there. Maybe Lilith can explain what that was."

"Z-12, you want my opinion?" Alan offers.

Z-12 just nods yes, looking like a beaten child.

"I think it's because you have power you don't know about yet. After all you said you were a clone of the original Zer0, right?" Alan gives him a sign of reassurance, in his words to make sure Z-12 is feeling alright.

"Yeah, that makes sense. Hey by the way did you catch the woman on the intercom stating that the test subjects were loose?" Z-12 wonders if Alan caught that.

"Ugh… yeah, you know what that was all about?" Alan says, with a hint of awkward in his tone.

"Before we bumped into each other, Snaptrap let loose the other clones in my room. He told me that we needed a diversion to get us out, I asked if we could save them all instead… But he told me that I was the only clone that's worth saving. And as far as I can tell, I think I was just halfway mature in my stasis pod." Now Alan is just downright confused, he now gets why the siren went off about "test subjects" but what Z-12's telling him right now is just unbearably bizarre.

"Hang on, hang on, why are you telling me this anyway?" Alan demands an answer to this hunch Z-12 is telling him.

"Because the clones that Snaptrap let loose on the guards were much taller, and more vicious than me. I mean I saw one of these clones break a guard's neck with just one hand." Z-12 sounds scared himself in his own words, and Alan looks just as frightened as he was.

"Okay, you should probably tell Lilith about this. What you're saying right now seems to be looked into, or at least being cautious about." Alan warns Z-12 before agreeing.

Then their claptrap waitress arrived with their chosen drinks. Z-12 was given a full brimmed bottle of Torguesplosion, and Alan was given the same ordeal for his Wurmwater rum.

"Umm, Shouldn't I've gotten a shot glass with this?" Alan asked to the Claptrap waitress.

The waitress just stared at Alan until it gave them a tootles, and left to find other orders to fill.

"Seriously? I mean I understand why I get a pint size of beer, but how could you get a pint size of rum? Is that even possible to just drink straight out of the bottle?" Z-12 asks to Alan.

"Well it's Pandora, remember. I'm pretty sure there's no drinking law here." Alan points out.

"Humph, damn!" Z-12 calmly states.

Alan looks towards the stool bar area to find the others, and his sister. Alan went there to get a shot glass for his rum, but the one situation he never thought would happen was witnessed by him, first hand.

"Maria are you drunk?" Alan asks as an over protected brother.

Maria just chuckles with her hiccups following afterwards. "No I'm just fitting in with the crowd."

"The crowd… ugh Maria come on, it's a bar, not a high school." Alan knows his words aren't going to get into her brain until she's sober. So he directs his words to someone else next to her, "How many drinks has she had?" Asking anyone who can hear.

The first to speak who could be understood was Cinder, he was about two stools next to her, before EC, and with the crowd behind them, cheering the digital strippers, and it was hard to hear him even from there.

"That's her fourth glass of Vladof's Freedom Vodka!" Cinder mildly roars.

"Vladof's Freedom Vodka?!" Alan screams in surprise. Cinder just nods yes.

"Calm down Al'n, we've had par'ties waaaayy bigger than this in college." Maria said, just as drunk as their father. Alan felt irritated, but all he can do is chuckle. Chuckling on how drunk she is compared to their father. I guess getting drunk is one of their family traits.

"Okay whatever, I just came here for a shot glass for my rum. Where's the Bartender?"

"I'm right behind you cutie!" a woman said in a redneck accent

"Yes I just came heeeeeeeeeeerrrrrre…" Alan turns around to find an old woman in a chair where instead of wheel's it has two big metal hind legs.

"It's okay, I already heard you, sweet heart. I'll get your shot glass in a few." Alan was still in shock to see what she's sitting in. To make it weirder and interesting, her walking chair has a tiny metal claw coming from the top reaching his shot glass.

"Well there's your glass. You enjoy your drink, and don't forget to tip "the ol'Moxxi jar" for yours truly." She said in a courteous smile.

"Yo-your name's Moxxi?" Alan snapps out of his trance.

"Wha? Naw, no I'm her daughter Ellie. Moxxi's been sleepin downstairs for twenty years. Just to keep this here place floatin in booze and all those strippers you see."

"Sleepin for twenty years, what the- what'r you talkin about?" Alan snaps in shock.

She doesn't even turn around to gesture an answer, Alan is no doubt dumbstruck. Either way he just shrugs it off his shoulder, and turns his head back to the stools to see their reactions. Maria laughs without any idea on where to look, Haley, and EC chuckle in their tiny martini glasses, Ricardo just sips his mug of whatever he chose to drink not taking a care in the world, Cinder was having a belly laugh in his near drunken state. Alan just rolls his eyes, and turns back to Z-12, but before he takes a step towards his booth, he thinks he should look after his sister.

"Ugh hey, if any of you spot my sister with signs of nausea, and the eventual spewing, she's cut off for the next two days." Alan points out. After a slow pause, the first to speak up was Ricardo with a favor.

"Hey can I join you guy's at the booth, it's getting boring over here." Ricardo asks.

"Ugh yeah sure, come on." Alan answers.

Alan doesn't wait for Ricardo to get over here, he's already sitting at his side at the booth, and Ricardo follows sliding in the same side. Ricardo points his mug to Alan's drink to see if he's going to slide one down his throat. Alan then pours his clear drink into the glass, sipping down the crystal clear liquid one baby step at a time. That was the first thought for Alan, but then he thought to himself it's Pandora, no drinking laws. His father once told him that people use to lose their lunch inside these bars. So he just poured out a normal size shot of the rum in his glass, and swigs it down. The bitter taste of the clear liquor hit's him on the first drip of rum to his tongue. Swallowing it down in his gullet wasn't hard to handle, but what made it hard was to shake off the spicy after taste it leaves behind. The sensation of rum travels down his stomach giving Alan a brief spine tingle.

Z-12 gives him a sour chuckle that just tells Alan that Z-12 thinks that he doesn't have what it takes to hold liquor. Alan just rolls his eyes and takes another swig of his rum. Alright it's Z-12's turn to chug down his "Torguesplosion beer", and with any luck the "-splosion" part is just hype. Just like Alan he chugs a moderate gulp, and finds a strange sensation in his beer. He could taste the liquor in the bottle, but there was something in it that just made his tongue shrivel. After another swallow, and a stronger face to out match Alan's reaction, Z-12 spoke out his opinion.

"I think this beer is carbonated?!" Z-12 takes notice.

"Really? Well, I guess it's not all hype after all." Alan agrees.

"Most of the time." Ricardo adds, briefly. Then he just went back to staring at his mug.

Alan looks behind his shoulder to see the locals still gathering around the stage with the strippers, and the other locals not around the stage are getting their lap dances from the Claptrap strippers. At the corner of his eyes, he could've sworn that one of those digital strippers threw her panties to the audience, and what got his full attention was that the people were tackling each other to just get their hands on it, until it digitizes away. Alan turns his head back to Z-12 to see him chuckle.

"Is that chuckle of yours for me or them?" Alan asks.

"…I guess both." Z-12 answers.

"Hey I'm not tackling anyone for fake panties." Alan backs.

"Not yet Amigo." Ricardo says for further agitation while pouring down another beer, "Believe me Alan, every loser I've seen pass through here, say exactly what you just told, and after about a full week or less they end up around that same stage, desperate for just one single dose of lust in their lives. Give it about a month from now and you'll be crazy enough for a robot lap dance. Believe me, you'll give in, they always do."

"Why not you then?" Z-12 butts in, "You've lived here long enough to be appointed sheriff of Opportunity, why aren't you over there air humping in front of those fancy stripper light shows?"

Ricardo just glares at Z-12 "Because I'm usually at work, handling bar brawling, or skag infestations. I mean right now is my only day off to just sit here and drink until I spew." He says in an impudent tone towards Z-12.

Alan speaks up to avert the subject, and avoid a possible brawl, "So um Ricardo, you still haven't told me how long you've been here on Pandora. Care to tell us now?"

Ricardo takes a chug of his drink down the hatch before answering "Um yeah… yeah. I was only ten years old, back then they were just starting to settle in Opportunity. I first arrived on the planet about three years after Handsome Jack was **'**_Jacked__off'_, but Salvador, my uncle wasn't the best guardian for me, but he was all the family I had left. Which is why I ended up here. He kinda meant well, thinking about it these days. Usually when he wasn't around, the last sheriff would keep an eye on me for awhile. Sheriff Friedman was his name. Salvador was good with guns, but he didn't give them enough respect compared to the way Sheriff Friedman did. He was the first to teach me how to at least shoot with respect, but he was usually lazy, but I managed teach myself after that, then he died a few years later. Hence, this is why I've been given the badge of opportunity … You know what, I gotta go I've said enough, and I need to avoid a hangover for tomorrow's job. When you guys are ready for some shut eye just head back to city hall. It doubles as our living quarters"

Z-12 gives him a nod in farewell for Ricardo, and after a couple of minutes, the next thing Alan did was laugh. He was laughing hard enough to get his drunken sister's attention. He then buries his face on the table to suppress any more attention. Z-12 pats his back to calm him down, and after about three deep breaths, and a headshake, he was finally calm. Alan brought his head up, but still chuckling.

"Sorry about that. I was just laughing at the irony. After what Ricardo just said, everyone here succumbs to desperation, really?"

"How's that ironic in your head?" Z-12 asks.

"Well it's my sister, and I. Dad said he first met our mother on this planet, and if my memory serves right, dad said that she was still a virgin when they met. He didn't go deep into those details."

"Did your mom ever spill those details for you?" Z-12 didn't expect a blank, emotionless stare at his question.

"No ugh… Well." Alan takes a brief sigh and confesses, "She died when we were really little." Z-12 drops his jaw, and widens his eyes. Following with his eyes looking over his shoulder to avoid awkwardness.

"Don't worry about it Z-12, my sister and I are doin just fine. Over all these years our father has been just avoiding us, but not enough for child support. Technically we support ourselves. Whenever our dad would get sick, we'd help him out. Whenever either me or my sister were sick we'd help each other out. We were just lookin out for ourselves and keeping our father in one piece all our lives. Our rule was to always put family first, no matter what" Alan explains.

Z-12 then gave him a raised eyebrow "So what about your father?"

"I wish I could say we're doing well with him, but he hasn't been doin good recently. He's just waiting. Waiting for his time to come."

"He's just waiting to die?"

"Yeah."

Z-12 took another swig of his Torguesplosion to think of how to say what he's thinking, "Well I'm not gonna go into that information. But I must say, you, your father and your sister are lucky to have each other" Z-12 took one more sip of his drink until this sudden outburst came from his mouth, some of his drink spilled through his teeth "Hold on your mother was a virgin when they met?!"

"Yeah." Alan said calmly while rolling his eyes. After a few more shots, he began to notice the sense of being drunk. "You know what, I should probably go I need to get some sleep. Long day today. Remember what Ricardo said we'll be sleeping at city hall tonight." So Alan pulls out a chunk of his wad of ten thousand dollars, and puts about fifty on the table for his drink. But before he makes his way out the door, he turns back to claim his bottle of rum, and put's a hundred dollars to just take the whole thing. Being barely drunk, he fought his way without swiveling to the stools so he can inform Snaptrap to escort his sister to the city hall sleeping quarters, but then he just realizes that city hall is about four blocks away. So he went back to see Z-12 at the booth to make a correction.

"Second thought I'll just wait for you guys outside, I'll probably knock myself out in the trunk see when you've had a mouthful. Oh and let Mr. Claptrap know that's my pay for the day. Over there on the table." Z-12 nods, but Alan was already on his way to the truck.

Z-12 didn't want to feel like a lone wheel, so he took his drink, and moves his rear to the bar stools. Next to Cinder was an empty seat, Z-12 felt lucky under the alcoholic influence. Sitting next to Cinder was like sitting next to a wall, he was built for a planet this dangerous, he already has scars, but Z-12 knew that those scars weren't from this planet. Taking another chug of Torguesplosion, he catches a big breath for just one more question for the day.

"Hey Cinder!" Z-12 tries to choke out those words.

"Whuttup shorty-sword." Cinder turns his stool to face Z-12, he doesn't look as drunk as Alan or Maria, but he looks to have had three drink or five.

"Ugh, when I first met you. You were a… a big hairy beast. How did that happen to you?"

Cinder went back to his drink, for one more swig, and finally came forward, "Well… I was born and raised on the planet Menoetius, but I moved to another planet called Ozark to work on imported skags. Now Skags are native to this planet here, and the reason why they were imported, is because they were experimented, by Hyperion. After a couple of months on keeping track on the skags, one managed to whip its tongue on my back when I was off guard. It didn't kill me, obviously, but it did leave behind other nasty bite scars, along with this perk I have. I discovered it afterwards when my steak order wasn't cooked right."

"A steak order?" Z-12 wonders,

"Yeah, the ugh… there's something in raw meat just makes the animal in me wake up. I honestly never looked into this, and I don't plan to anytime either."

Shaking what's left of his Torguesplosion at the bottom of his bottle, he just decides to engulf the rest of the bottle, hoping it would make him drunk enough to join Alan at the truck. Moments later, feeling his vision blur into mirages, makes him presume that he was finally drunk. Walking towards the truck, Cinder turns to face Z-12 heading towards the exit. Feeling as drunk as he is, probably twice as drunk as the time he was in the beer truck.

"Hey Z-Telve!" Cinder breaks out.

"Whuuth." Z-12 prepares to drool with his face turned around over his shoulder.

"That man, the one in red and black tights. The man who loves his mouth more than his guns, blades, and women." Cinder took a brief pause to burp out his current state. "I think he's dead, I think he died in his pool. Yeah he was found dead in his pool. That's right! Hey here, hold up I'm comin with ya."

"Whaad'ver!"

Both of them were too drunk to carry their own weight, the only two people who were still sober enough to know what's happening were Haley and EC.

"Eh told you all the new comers would be the first to leave, and get drunk." Haley betted on EC.

"Hmph no, no, no. Ricardo was also the first to leave all drunk, remember?" EC corrects, while feeding her hawk sized bird a sample of her Mali-Margarita

"Oh yeah." Haley totally forgot about him, and slumps in her stool.

"Now then, pay up, you know the drill." EC holds out her hand in a grubby fashion.

"Fine here's your fifty bucks." Haley jerks the money out from the top of her shirt.

"Thank you." EC said with a hint of slyness.

"Anyway were any of these newcomers cute for you?" Haley asks with some hope in her eyes.

"No, the only one who seemed close to be considered was the first to get drunk, which is how he failed my first test." EC drops her sight to the floor.

"EC, the first newcomer to get drunk was the woman beside you." Haley counter corrects towards Maria to be the first to get drunk.

"Oh okay, looks like forgot I forgot about her." EC looks down at the drunken Maria. She thinks that Maria either drank too much in one go, or she really can't hold her liquor.

"You know in my opinion, I think that guy Alan has eyes on you." Haley points.

"Yeah, me and Redrum already noticed. When we took his eyes off you. He planted bigger eyes on me." EC pets her bird Redrum.

"Whatever, so do you think he can pass your, 'inspection for the perfect man'?"

"Haley just because he passed the first test, doesn't mean he's gonna pass the others. You know what, we should probably pack up before we too get delved into our own drinks." EC changes the subject to avoid a gossip session.

"Agreed-" Haley turns her attention to Snaptrap, "Hey Snaptrap, think you can drive us back to city hall?"

Snaptrap just took a bow, and said "Yes". As they began to get back to the truck, Haley almost forgot about poor drunken out Maria.

"Wait we almost forgot about Alan's sister." Haley slung Maria's drunken self over her strong shoulders. In Pandora there cannot be a lot of time for look's or feminine sides, a good time at a bar is a mere 50/50. By the time Haley made it to the truck with Maria over her, she found all the men passed out in the trunk sleeping off their drinks. Snaptrap was already starting the engine, and EC was just getting in the passenger seat. The only seat left in the trunk had enough room for one more person, so Haley decides to put Maria in there with the other passed out people, and phase shift's herself to city hall. All who was left that was sober enough to stay awake was EC.

"Alright Snaptrap take us home." EC says after letting Redrum fly his way back himself.

"Yes ma'am." Snaptrap says with a hint of emotion

As the robot drives back underneath the light of dusk, EC look back at her drunken friends, and spots Alan behind the driver's seat. With a sense of weakness, she gives herself a brief chuckle, and turns her head back to the front.

"Yeah he is pretty cute. I hope he can do it." EC answers to no one but herself.

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**Pop Quiz: The man in red and black tights, who loves his mouth more than his blades, guns and women. Who is this mysterious figure that only Cinder knows when he's drunk?**

**First person to answer the question in my reviews correctly shall be my next favorite author, and if you gotta good story up your sleeve that you recommend for me, i'll add it to my favorites list as well. FYI even if you weren't the first to answer correctly you can still recommend me a story ,i'm a good man (Mostly).**

**Warning: In the next chapter, we'll be going back to Axton and check on his well being. Because in my opinion, it's hard to be Axton in this story. I mean come on, Maya (Who was married to Axton at the time obviously) was murdered right in front of him, and he couldn't save her, nor can he avenge her due to his crippled left leg. Oh well, see you there!**


	10. Ch10 Very Unexpected

**"Gee that was fast" Nah, to be honest I wrote this chapter before the last one. Now this chapter is a special one, it's for my friend Lavendarfox, she's a good writer, and the name of her fanfiction will be at the bottom of the chapter**

**(7/20/13) I am done, and in the clear for my "The Walking dead" Fanfiction.**

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It's been 19 years since Maya died, and Axton still bears his wedding ring. There are times he would pet his ring to just relax from the fact that he's been alone for all these years. Every morning he haul's his crippled knee with his cane down his mansion to make his breakfast, but this morning came with a very rare surprise. He heard a familiar voice on his door intercom.

"Sarah?" Axton coughs out.

"Colonel Sarah, Axton!" Sarah corrects to her ex-husband.

Axton spits at the word colonel in his head "Sarah darlin…It's been almost 27 years since we last spoke." He grumbles.

"Yeah I know it's been awhile… Can I come in?" Sarah fights to bring those last words out.

"What's your business?" Axton Demands.

"I've heard reports that your son Alan hasn't reported back to base after your last visit from him, and I hear that your daughter hasn't been attending her classes, and no one has found her on campus. Do you know anything about this?" Sarah told him in a rhetorical statement.

"From the sounds of your voice I think you already know what's going on. Just go, and figure it out yourself. I don't need this!" Axton pushes back with his voice.

Sarah makes a counter decision "Axton you should know that I have a response team behind me to break down this door, because your son told me, and his officers about our last talk. My own officers will have me court martialed if you don't cooperate, and we'll get the information by force if you don't open this door. So you can either greet me inside as a human, or we can go back to the old roots of our lives where you were always on the run." Sarah threatens with a serious, soldier tone.

The door automatically unlocks "I'm in the kitchen."

As she walked in, Axton saw that she looks nothing last time he saw her, yet neither was he to Sarah's perspective, but they both could agree that their main looks were the same. Axton's firm cheeks, and Sarah's eyes. Axton raises a hand, offering a seat across the table, but she declines due to that she only has a few minutes to just be here without backup.

"So what did you really want to talk about?" Axton crunches in his cereal.

"Just an offer." Sarah breathes out quickly

Axton raises an eyebrow in question.

"People like you should be looking into supervised shelter, and I'm considering that you should start hiring a string of nurses for your wellbeing."

Axton just takes a long pause, staring at her as if he's frozen in his own grief.

"…No shit," Sarah lets out a long breath of relief of no outburst "I don't blame you for thinking that, I may not be old enough for complete supervision, but my leg makes up for my age." Then Axton begins to look and rub his wounded left knee "Hell you're not the first person to tell me this, my doctor is recommending that I get a wheel chair, which will include the nurses, he then told me about private retirement options you're talking about." He then looks back at Sarah "But don't shit me! Why are you really here? I know it's not because of my children, and it's sure as hell not because of retirement options. So what?"

Now it's Sarah's turn for a long pause, and she then clears her throat "Listen Axton, I've seen many people bury their loved ones, and you know what happened to those people?" Axton raises up an eyebrow, but she figures that he knows the answer "They move on, and continue living. But looking at you, here, I can see you haven't moved an inch of your life forward. Why in the world are you still in this phase?"

"Sarah… It's because there's no reason for me to move on, or keep living. All I can do is wait."

"And there lies the problem, why haven't you talked to anyone about all this? You could be out there watching your kids live out their own lives, and support them all the way, but you've been doing jack. All you do here is wait, drink, and blow off anything that could turn yourself around."

"Sarah, I've already been turned around." Axton says with no remorse, staring into his empty bowl.

"I know, and that turnaround is lost, but you need to-" Sarah was interrupted by Axton

"I didn't lose her. She was murdered right in front of me, and I was completely helpless." Axton begins staring at his wedding ring.

"Okay I stand corrected, but even an event like that is part of living, and you are nowhere near living right now, your just doing what I've said before. Just waiting, and drinking." Axton was growing irritated of this conversation, but this talk is just starting.

Sarah changes the subject to something more hard hitting "Do you remember when you went AWOL from Dahl?! Before you took out Hyperion. Before your children. You were gone for a whole year, for just one year, I was hoping that I would never hear of you again." Axton's was absolutely shocked to hear this. The fact that she's bringing up his old military career, and the day he fled to Pandora in the first place

"And when I got the word that you came home, I issued an order to assassinate you!" Axton's eyes widen with hazy anger, and confusion as of why he's still alive if there was an assassination order on him.

"We got word that you were going back to your family's old mansion. So we camped out 90 yards away from your front door, and to make sure there would be no regret, I was the one who would be taking the shot. By the time your transport was in sight, the first person that was caught in my cross hairs wasn't you… it was her. At first I thought she was someone you paid to have your way with in bed, but when I saw you enter my cross hairs… The one thing I didn't expect to see you was to sweep her off her feet to carry her inside, I knew that wasn't the case. " Axton's hazy anger begins to overpower his confusion, but he holds back his anger, seeing Sarah hold off her balling in her throat was something that didn't deserve to get angry about.

"The moment I saw her in your arms, I canceled off the mission, and sent the team away, but me, I thought I'd just… just-" She then let out her tears drizzle down her face so she can focus on what she's trying to say "Just hold my position to watch you two go inside your old home. Because from the bottom of my heart, I've realized…that you were happier than I've ever seen you before in my life." Axton went back to staring at his empty bowl, until his eyes caught the hand bearing his wedding ring again. Then after some brief memories he started to cry himself.

"Do you even know who she was?" Axton spoke through dry tears.

"Just her name, Maya. And planet of origin, Athenas. Nothing else." Sarah spoke while drying her tears of her face.

"Well how about I fill in the holes for you." Axton then looked at her in a serious face. "And personally. The way me and Maya came together was real… _unexpected_."

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**If you want to know the story of Axton, and Maya's love story please go see my friend Lavendarfox, and her story "Unexpected Events"**

**Now if you enjoyed this little sub chapter, i'll continue to make more when there's a good spot to find, and if I get enough views to consider it.**


	11. Ch11 Dream for the future

**Chapter 11: Dream for the Future**

**Alright, back to our vault hunters. Since no one has answered chapter 9's pop quiz, i'll keep the question under the next few chapters.**

**With some serious thinking with a few of my college friends, and one Facebook friend, I've decided to fill the holes between 1-10 with the upcoming chapters. Give me recommended flaws in the past 10 chapters I should look at, and don't be shy the more words I get the more I fix. Now enjoy this chapter.**

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The aftermath of the consumed alcohol smothers Alan's waking vision. Sitting up from his drunken slumber, he rubs his eye lids to wipe away the rheum. Clearing his blurry eyesight, he finds himself in a single bed. Alan didn't realize it was a bunk bed until he hit his head on the upper railing. As painful as it seems, he only lets out a rugged groan from the back of his throat. Rubbing his bruised brow start's waking him up. Now aware of his current surroundings, he realizes he's been sleeping without his cargo jacket, and green undershirt. Alan takes a moment to swivel his feet underneath the covers to see if he still has his boots on. Whipping his blanket away from him, Alan relieves himself to now that he's been sleeping in his cargo pants the whole time. His boots are nowhere in sight, and neither are his socks. Before Alan sets his bare feet to the cold floor, he ducks his head to avoid another head injury from the top bunk.

With his vision fully clear, he locates his jacket laid out on the couch across the room. He stumbles onto his missing boots beside his bed next to his Dahl rucksack. Before making a lunge for his boots, he grabs his rucksack, and digs into the pocket located on his left strap. Alan fishes out a small pouch of ground coffee from his pocket. He rips the top of the pouch, and devours the content into his mouth. Chewing ground coffee isn't easy for Alan to manage, but he wouldn't have passed basic training without it. One thing he can agree with to no end, is that it's much better than gouging his own eyes with hot sauce. Alan starts coughing out the bits of coffee that went down into his throat. Instantly, the coughing escalates into choking. He falls onto his knees and hands, with all the used coffee bits spewing out from his mouth. His coughing grows horrifically loud, and so hard he's about to throw up a sample of last night's rum. He can feel the spicy fluid rise up from his stomach, and his coughing isn't making it come any slower. Luckily, he's starting to cough out all the coffee bits onto the floor, before releasing his undigested poison. He slowly inhales a few good breaths before getting back on his feet. Standing up from his coughed up bits on the floor, he starts to feel his heart beat in his shoulders.

In order to shake off his bed head, Alan combs out his thick brown locks of hair with his fingers. Sitting back down on his bunk, he goes for his pack again, and digs out a small pack of powdered Aspirin. Alan never thought he'd be using this to minimize a hangover, usually it's for standard military purposes, but now it's his only chance to clear his system. The bitter taste of these crystals of acid couldn't be anymore torturous. Back to his knees on the floor again, he tightens his fists to combat the taste in his mouth. Alan grumbles through his gritting teeth, crunching his eyelids to block his watery eyes. The taste finally died in only a few minutes, and leaves a cool sense of satisfaction.

Still bowing on the floor, Alan claims his foot ware, and socks. He slips into his socks following his boots without tying up his laces, and makes his way to retrieve his jacket. Despite Alan's bitter process of ground coffee and powdered aspirin, he wobbles all the way to the couch. His whole body grows numb, barely feeling himself put one foot in front of the other. Dragging himself all the way to his destination, with his numbness escalating with every step. Alan fell to the ground, knees first, and head last, with no pain at all.

"Maria! Maria help! HELP!" Alan chokes out those words, before losing his consciousness. He was out cold for only a brief two seconds. His senses click inside him, like a light switch. Alan let's out some quick wheezes, and brings himself up to his feet. Up to his knees, he feels a pair of soft hands wrap around his right shoulder. He turns his head, and looks to his sister Maria, hoisting him up. Alan gives her some help by pushing his free hand off from the floor. Alan groans still tired from his brief knockout, but he takes notice that Maria's purple hair must've been under a twister. Alan believes she had a harder hangover than he did, her purple shirt with sleeves that go all the way to her elbows are severely wrinkled. Standing by his sister, he drops his head down to be caught by his own hands. He plants his palms all over his face, and wipes them across his dark brown bangs.

"Where've you been?" Alan aches out of his mouth.

"What r'you sayin?" Maria asks, clueless on what her brother is talking about.

"…Nothing, never mind. Ugh, give me a minute." Alan shakes his head out from his recovering state, and grabs his cargo jacket from the couch. Just like the socks in his boots, his Dahl T-shirt was inside his jacket. As he slid into his green undershirt, following his jacket, he saw his sister's leather clothing on the other side of the couch. Alan tosses them to her, with no warning. All her leather clothing hit her in the face. His sister gives him a confusing glare, with her hands out.

"What? At least it's not a full bottle of water, you'd get a real headache." Alan asked, and then reassured for Maria.

She just rolls her eyes, and exhales a sigh. She turns herself to the opposite direction of her brother's location. She looks back towards her brother, and finds him still looking at her. Maria pulls out her hand, and twirls her index finger, telling Alan to look away. He takes the order, knowing she want's privacy and points towards the wall behind him with his thumb, which tells her he'll be over there. At last in private, Maria hoists her black chaps over her bright, flexible blue jeans, and then she slings into her sleeveless leather jacket. Before she could leave her private moment, she pulls out an old rubber band and ties a pony tail into her purple hair. She turns around to find her brother still staring out at the window.

"Maria, I may be no college student, but I don't think the night sky should be this dark, and starless." Alan tells her sister, implying her to get over here, and check this out.

"What?" Maria sounds confused. She comes beside her brother staring at the window, and he's right. There's no stars outside, just the lifeless color, black. The city is unable to be seen either, there is no spec of color outside the window. Behind them, a crack of light catches the corner of their eyes to the opposite wall. Turning around to spot the source, the light shines through the front, two sided door. Moving towards it, the twins look at each other, and share the same face of fear, and curiosity. When they both stopped, face to face with the door, Alan gives Maria a nudge to get her attention.

"On three" Alan whispers. He reaches for the knob to the left, while Maria went for the other.

"One… Two…-" They tighten their grips on the knobs, "Three!" The two jerk open the door, and they've been greeted by an angelic light. The light could be bright enough to blind them on sight, but it isn't. They aren't even blocking their eyes, this light isn't making them flinch at all. The twins are welcomed by the presence of a strange force. Alan turns around to face the room they were just inside of, but the room, and the door have disappeared. Dumbstruck by this change of mood, from black window, to a very bright field of light. Then ground below them starts growing various colors. These colors spike all around them; on the left, the colors above their eye level is smothering itself in baby blue, and a lesser gleaming white light. Looking to the other side, the baby blue color gradually grows dark towards the right. The colors at eye level takes more mixtures of the color green, and gray. The gray color mainly revolves around Alan, and Maria, while the greens surround the background. All the colors around are able to blend with the other colors above. When everything around them, are just blurry colors, the twins are able to see ghostly shapes move around them. These same shapes grow more solid, and the colors grow more detailed at every moment. With the moving shapes growing color of their own, and the entire area saturating into more texture, this once bright light, has turned into a scene of an evening vaguely familiar for the two.

Maria turns around again to see what was behind her, and it was the back door of their old childhood mansion. She begins to back away in shock, and fell to her bum. Alan's jaw drops from this sudden predicament. Then he follows suit with Maria on his own bum. They both look at each other in the same faces. Alan rubs the back of his head, and Maria just nods no, as if in denial. Maria is the first to get up, offers a hand for her brother. Alan manages to get himself up, about halfway he accepts her help. Alan turns himself around to view the backyard from their gray tiled patio.

"Unbelievable!" Alan confesses, in slow shock.

"More like, Un-Fuckin-Believable!" Maria corrects for her brother. Alan doesn't even comment, he just gives her a face that tells her that he's good, and goes towards the patio's railing to take an eyeful of their backyard. After about three minutes of staring at what's going on; what with the small stage, the smell of barbecue, and the friendly neighbors singing to music. The answer bitch slaps Alan in the face with no remorse.

"I… I remember this day!" Alan says with a pinch of grief, and a majority of astonishment. Alan takes a brief pause to simmer his emotions inside. As he opens his mouth to answer his discovery, Maria interrupts him with the same answer. "This was our mothers last birthday, isn't it?" Alan stares at his sister with a blank glare. Then the same glare instantly turning it into a chuckling smirk with a nod.

"Come on let's check it out!" Alan ran down the stairs to the back yard.

Maria didn't want to do this. She would rather get out of this situation, but this was the last party they had with their own mother. And she knows deep down in her heart, and soul, that she can barely remember what she was like. She remembers her looks more than her own brother does. All she has to do is look in a mirror, and imagine her long hair being blue, instead of purple. At the end of her self-discussion, she shrugs off her thoughts, and follows her brother down the back yard to the crowd. Running straight towards the crowd, they actually felt younger again. It's a weird feeling they both never had before, but they don't care. As they arrived to the tables, they were just about to push the others aside to get to the front of the stage, but a group of people behind them went straight through them like they were ghosts. Maria took about ten seconds to shake off this startling news, and test out this ability. She walks to a seated person to her left, and swipes her hand through his head, and it went right through him like smoke. Alan had the same experience, but instead this time, a couple of kids rushed right through him. When he catches the sight of the two little kids, he almost fell on his bum again. The twins aren't in a reenactment, they're just ghosts in a flashback.

"Tha…That's… That's us!" Alan blurts, and pointed to their direction.

Maria catches the eyes of their younger selves, she just laughs, and nods yes. During her episode, she begins getting all teary, and falls to her back. Alan dashes to go help his sister. Maria cries out her laughing, and she won't stop till the point where she's choking. Without thinking, and with a pinch of panic, Alan just slaps her in the face, hoping it will calm her down. It works, she begins inhaling heavy loads of breath. Alan hauls her up to sit on the ground.

"You alright?" Alan concerns for his sister. Maria takes a moment to look at her brother, and she gives him a hard headbutt. Her forehead hits him so hard, he falls on his own back. He gets back up instantly, and stares at her using his whole face for his astonishment.

"What the Hell?!" Alan demands with no knowledge of why she made her recent actions. He then begins rubbing his forehead to calm his headache down. Maria doesn't say a thing, she gets herself up, and goes back at staring at their younger selves. Alan brings himself up as well, and joins her on observing their past lives. Walking through the crowd as if they were never in their way, they find their younger selves playing out in the field with other kids. As Maria sits to the ground with his brother, they watch these kids play around in the field. What this game is called, hit's Alan with vague memories. He leans forward with widening eyes, and his jaw open half way to the bottom.

"I remember this game, I always called it 'Soldiers and witches', and you called it 'Witches and soldiers'. I would always play as soldiers with the other boys, and we'd stick our fingers out like guns." Alan gives her sister time to talk, and give her own opinions.

"That's right, the girls and I would draw swirls on our palms to make it look like spells. The winner would be determined by the side who tire's out last." Maria adds from her side of the story.

"Yeah…Yeah… Do you remember who won this fight?" Alan hasn't felt sympathy for his past in years. It feels good to watch this.

"I don't remember." Maria says, but it sounds like she isn't really listening. Before they could even think about it, the answer pops from behind them. The announcer of the karaoke contest says the performance is starting. They turn around to watch the crowd assemble, and from behind them, their younger selves, and the other kids dash from beside them. Forgetting about their entire game, they follow them to their table, and just stand behind them. Their counterparts sat with a woman that they can't recognize from this angle. They don't feel bothered for just standing here, they figure if people can't touch, or see them, then maybe they're unable to sit on chairs either. Aside from the inability of sitting, the woman who sat with their younger selves came up to the stage. In the light they both can recognize who she was. She was one of their neighborhood friends, and she babysat them once a while.

"Hello everyone! Now that we all have gotten our food, it's now time for our first karaoke performance!-" Amelia, gives herself a pause to let the moderate size crowd clap, "-Now without further ado, please give a round of applause for the first contestant; Maya, and her husband on the piano!" The crowd makes a louder clap of cheers, as the two lovers come on stage.

Alan burst's out chuckling with his words to his sister, "No way… Dad knows how to play the piano!?" He looks at Maria with a happy open jaw that eventually brakes him down laughing.

"…Of course he did… I… I remember that!" At the end of her response she too starts laughing down.

When the music begins to play, the twins instantly recognized this song. Because every time they hear the song "Beautiful Loser", it reminds them of the stories their father once told. When he was an infamous glory hound, before he met their mother.

Axton's wearing a pair of khaki's, an unbuttoned green plaid shirt, and a dark colored t-shirt. The twins didn't take a lot of time to fully detail Axton's attire, they were too occupied on their mother's own attire. She has a normal looking blouse with the color indigo, and white jeans. Her blue hair looks absolutely stunning; it was in a flat pony tail from the top of her cranium, except for the bottom layer of her hair which hangs over her shoulders, and the way her bangs curve around her face was just absolutely beautiful. Her eyes are a kind of pair that would look good even without liner, or mascara. Her skin tone has a creamy texture, like Maria's.

Whether it's a dream or something else, the twins never thought they'd see their mother again. They truly felt humble to watch this night play out. They could barely remember this night, and it's being relived in front of them. Maya's singing is a rare treat, but then again seeing their father on the piano is more of a shocker. Alan thought for a moment that she was a real Siren from Greek mythology. When their song was done, and took their bow, Alan shrugged at his sister.

"Come on let's get outta here." Alan says, tugging Maria's elbow.

"Hey-hey-hey do you even know how to get out?" Maria demands to straighten out her sudden startle.

Alan makes a suggestion, while turning towards his sister. "Well I was thinking we could start at th-" Alan's words comes to a halt when the entire party scene turn's solid black. Maria takes notice the second her brother looks all around. To the left of Maria, another light peeks in the darkness. This light is different though, it gleamed through the dark like the suns ray. It feels like they are in a tunnel, and out through this light came a strange dark figure. It was charging towards them at full speed, and as it comes closer they could see what looks like wings. Whatever this thing is, it's going to crash into Alan and Maria. All of a sudden this strange smoky whisper treads through the twin's ears, "Fear not! I will take you home." When the winged figure passes through Alan and Maria, Alan woke up drenched in sweat on the floor he fell on.

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**7/9/13: I forgot to mention this when I posted this chapter. Happy birthday Lavendarfox, my friend.**

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**Strange Chapter I like to believe, but where the scenery was being formed? That was real hard to imagine, so I looked up Youtube videos on "Assassins Creed III" when the animus set's up the landscape on different sequences. FYI Best Assassins Creed game EVAH!. Yeah Black Flag looks real awesome, but Assassins Creed III will have a good spot in my favorites list, mainly because the plot's in "AMERICA". Anyway I'm off subject, the excuse I have for Axton knowing how to play Piano is mainly when I go to Moxxi's bar, there is this tiny piano, and sometimes I just press the button to let it play, and my best character is of course Axton.**

**Here's Chapter 9's Pop Quiz: The man in red and black tights, who loves his mouth more than his blades, guns and women. Who is this mysterious figure that only Cinder knows when he's drunk?**

**Please review!**


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